Tell Me This is a Lie
by RGaffney
Summary: Sequel to Tell Me This is a Dream. The Love Game ends and Natalina thinks everything will go back to normal; but her brother is back. This time, he wants to kill her. Can she run from her brother while dealing with the feelings with her country friends?
1. Chapter 1

_*****AND THE SEQUEL BEGINS! **_

_**Yeah, I know I said I have lots of other things to do before I start this, but I have grown to like Natalina as a character and I had so many ideas, I just needed to write. **_

"_**Writer's Block is when your imaginary friends don't talk to you." **_

_**In that case, the "Where For Art Thou, Thy Original Cast?" characters do not like me at all. They stopped texting a long time ago…**_

_**Natalina, on the other hand, calls me every day. **_

_**Just a brief inside of my mind and how I think. Crazy, right?**_

_**Right, warnings: Blood and violence. The usual for me. **_

_**Let it begin!*****_

If you've ever heard "When Will My Life Begin?" from Tangled, you'll know how I felt for six months.

My name is Natalina. It doesn't mean anything cool; it means 'birthday'. Six months ago, my brother took a chip from me. It was a chip that would tell a person how to rule the world. It was from my dead mother, who invented the chip. Go back and read my first story if you're lost.

I told Alfred, well, America (but I call him Alfred) that I couldn't live under the name: "Holly Golightly", because that was a weird name that people would be suspicious of.

The day that I told Alfred about this problem (also the day I left for my new house) Alfred crossed his arms and said: "Fine! I'll name you after Holly Golightly because I like that movie, as well as Natalie Wood."

My eyes grew wide. "Holly Wood? You are really going to change my name to _Holly Wood_?"

"Who doesn't like _Miracle on 34__th__ Street_?" Alfred asked innocently. "Or _Breakfast at Tiffany's_?"

"I…I give up!" I said, sighing. So my name for going into any nearby town was "Holly Wood". That was so my brother would not be able to find me. But I knew he would someday.

How do I know my brother would find me some day? Well, it's a long story. My mother would give me a letter each year on my birthday. Yes, when she was dead. For my 20th birthday, not only did I get my own house, but my father gave me my birthday letter. I don't know how he got the letter, but he wouldn't say anything to me about it. I read it alone in my room in my old house. This is what the letter read:

_My dearest Natalina, _

_You are now 8 years old. You are so big! It seemed just like yesterday you were in a crib. You love playing with your brother. This will be the last letter I will ever send you. When you read this, burn it and put the ashes in a jar of water and then bury the jar. It is that important. _

_The chip has another secret. You need a password when you get up to a certain point. I will now trust you with this password. This is in case the chip is ever stolen and you are still alive. The password is the nickname of a wonderful girl that I knew. You should be able to figure it out from there. _

_My dear daughter, there will be a time, far from now, when the world will be in chaos. There will be one person that is sane enough to rule the world until things get in order. If this ever happens while you are alive, then that one person is sane enough to have the chip. But it must be worth dying over. Only then can you give the chip to that person. _

_I love you, Natalina. You are such a big girl now. You think you can outsmart your brother in everything and often, you do! Please understand that I do feel there will be a person fit to rule the world. And please understand that I feel you are smart enough to decide who and when someone can rule the world. I have put this in your hands because I trust you. The reason I hid this last secret was in case you let the chip slip when you were younger. You are now armed with full knowledge of how to rule the world. _

_I will love you forever. _

_Love, _

_Mom_

Did I mention I lost the chip six months ago? Well, I didn't lose it. My own brother betrayed me and ripped it out of my heart. I love him _so_ much.

And that was sarcasm.

So now I'm stuck at a ranch in the middle-of-nowhere-Montana with one dog, one cat and two horses for company. But instead of venting about it this way, why don't I tell you about the day I smacked a country? It will be fun.

…

Like I said, think _Tangled_. Every morning, I wake up at 8 o'clock. The first thing I do is feed the two horses that Alfred gave me.

When I commented that I now lived on a ranch and I could almost see horses out in a pasture (I was joking), Alfred went and bought two horses for me. All my country friends are allowed to take money from the national banks. Now I think I know why America is in such debt. So now I have a Thoroughbred mare and a Quarter Horse gelding. Their names are Vivian (or Viv) and Patchwork (or Patch).

My ranch home is basically a huge barn. One side was made into a house, separated from the barn half by a wall. The barn half was going to be a garage or place to store things, but I never had that much stuff to store and then Alfred had to go and buy me some "new buddies".

So every morning I get up, get dressed and feed my horses. They have their own stall, with a hole above the stall ceiling, which is the hayloft. I pitch some hay down into the hole from the hayloft and it lands up in the feed trough in the stalls. While they eat, I feed my barn cat, Chelsea.

Chelsea is a black and white cat. There is a small hole in one of her ears. I like to call it her 'piercing', but Ludwig seems to think it was from a fight that Chelsea got into. I give her a bowl of dry cat food and put it on a shelf that's near Patchwork's stall. It's her favorite spot to nap and look out for mice.

Then I go into the house part of the barn and give my German shepherd dog, Danny, some wet-dry mix dog food. I know, Chelsea the cat and Danny the dog. It sounds like a cartoon. I then make myself some food and watch the news. When Danny's done with his food, I let him outside and follow him out to get my horses. I let them out in the pasture with Danny. My horses love Danny and I think Danny thinks he's a little foal to them. While they play outside, I go into the barn and clean up the stalls. After the stalls and the rest of the barn are clean, I'll usually go inside and play the Halo game that Alfred got me, or make pasta with the pasta maker that Feliciano gave to me. But I already beat the Halo game and I've had a lot of pasta lately, so I'll sit outside and clean horse tack while I watch Danny and my horses play.

When I'm done with tack, I'll go on a trail ride with Patch or Viv. Or I'll give Danny a bath. Or brush Chelsea. Or wash the horses. Or scrub the barn floors. Or clean my house. Or do anything to occupy my mind.

What about my friends? Well, my school friends are back in South Carolina. I didn't want them to be at risk because of my brother, so I slowly stopped calling them. My country friends, on the other hand, have not called or e-mailed me for six months. Usually, one of them will visit me to check in. It was usually Alfred, since he lived the closest, but I've had all of my friends visit me. But six months ago, Kiku called me and told me that they found a lead on my brother. They didn't want me to be at risk, so they stopped contact with me. Kiku said someone would visit me when they found something about my brother. I agreed and we stopped talking. I stopped going into town, in case my brother found me.

But a month passed and I was getting worried. Someone would at least call by now. So I called Yao and he told me nothing had happened at all. He never heard anything about my brother. I felt disappointed. Was I a burden to my friends? I never asked for anything and I hoped I wasn't being a brat. Yes, there was Feli's 'Love Game', that was a competition that started when everyone wanted the chip and tried to win my heart over it, but we had all agreed to forget that so we could concentrate on the chip and my brother (not to mention Ivan, who was basically the entire country of Russia, who helped my brother). If that was the reason they stopped calling me, I was hurt that they would think that I would give up on a promise like that. My entire life was one big secret! They didn't think I could forget a little love game that was based on a chip that could rule the world? Another five months went by and nothing happened. No one called me and I didn't want to call them in case they ended up finding out something about my brother. So I spent six months in isolation, pissed that no one would call or at least send a scrap of paper that said: "Hi. I still remember you".

But that day, my anger would be vented. I was done cleaning the tack, so I went to get Patchwork from the pasture for a trail ride. Then Danny, who was inside the barn, started barking. He had a loud bark. By the way Patchwork's ears went back, I guessed that it was a warning bark. Someone was at my door. I put a lead rope on Patchwork's halter and led him inside. I tied him up next to his stall and went to get the door.

I wiped the dirt and saddle cleaner from my hands and I opened up the door.

My jaw dropped.

Arthur gave a polite nod. "Good day, Miss Natalina." He said.

I blinked. Six months shouldn't seem that long, but I felt I was very close to all of my country friends. One month without them was like one month without a sibling or dear friend. That's how close I was to them; although I didn't think a lot of them saw me as a sibling, mostly because of the love game we tried so very hard to forget.

"Arthur…" I trailed off.

He smiled. "It's been a long time-" He started.

I smacked him. It wasn't a hard smack, but Arthur was still shocked. "It's been _too _long, Arthur Kirkland!" I yelled. "How come you never called or wrote? I'd forgive forgetful Gilbert or Alfred, but-"

"We had a lead on your brother." Arthur said in his defense, holding his cheek in his hand.

"Yao told me that you gave up on it six months ago." I stated.

Arthur looked down. "Bugger. Yao told you."

"'Yao told me'? Why do you make it seem like you were keeping it hidden from me?" I yelled.

I raised my hand to smack Arthur again, but Arthur grabbed my hand.

"Listen to me!" Arthur growled. "I don't have anything to say in my defense for the way I treated you for the past six months. But-"

"But what? 'Oh, gee, I'm sorry I forgot you for six months, but we had a cold trail for your brother that we gave up on right away without telling you'?" I yelled.

"Bloody hell, calm down!" Arthur yelled. I've only heard him yell once. And I left his house when that happened. "Keep in mind that our kind is much, much older than you! Time moves differently for us." He held up a large envelope. "And just when we were about to call you, _this _happened."

I was just about to say something, when Danny found us and growled at Arthur, showing his teeth. Arthur let go of my wrist and looked at the dog and then back at me. "Nice dog, Natalina." Arthur said. He was one of the people who pitched in money for Danny and Chelsea. I didn't know who looked angrier. Danny or me.

I told Danny to go inside. Like a well-trained dog, Danny went back inside and waited by the door to the barn, still able to see both of us out of the corner of his eye. I looked down in shame. I shouldn't have yelled or smacked Arthur like that. It was true. Six months could have been four days to them. I didn't need to get mad.

Arthur pulled up my chin with his hand. "I'm sorry. I should have called you. Forgive me." I looked into his deep green eyes. I hope he didn't feel the heat in my cheeks. There was something special about his eyes.

"I missed you, Natalina." Arthur said.

I blinked. "I missed you too."

"How have you been?" Arthur asked, still holding my chin.

"I'm…I'm fine." I said.

"That's good." Arthur said.

I felt like time stopped. I didn't hear anything but his soft breathing. Last time I felt like this, Arthur had leaned down and kissed me. I saw him bend down, like the last time. His eyes went distant and-

Danny gave a warning growl. I never saw Arthur jump back so fast. I laughed so hard I was leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh my God, Arthur! You'd think I just exploded!" I laughed.

"Well, have you ever had a huge dog growl at you?" Arthur snapped.

I waved off his anger. "Oh, don't worry. Danny won't hurt you unless you tried to kill me."

"Try telling your dog that." Arthur growled.

I smiled. "Well, since you finally made the effort to see me, what news do you bring?"

Arthur held up an envelope. His face grew serious. "I need to talk to you."

…

I blinked. The paper staring back at me was just as mocking as the words written on it.

Not written. Carved.

In flesh. A girl's flesh.

The photo was an autopsy of a girl with the same facial features as me. Carved into her back were the words: "I found you, Rebel."

"…She died in England. London. She was dragged and dumped in a park where she could be seen." Arthur said. We were sitting at my kitchen table, looking at all the information spread out. Nasty, gruesome pictures and files on the girl were all over my table, mixed with teacups and biscuits. "Whoever did this, he or she made sure that this murder made it to me personally. I know the name 'Rebel' means a lot to you." Arthur said

"This is my brother's handwriting." I croaked. The initial thought of my brother trying to kill me wore off after a while. Now I'm just bitter any time Brad is mentioned. Sitting at the table, I was just tired. I didn't like being chased like this. "He killed the girl because she looked like me and carved that message on her back so that I would know about it. It must be him."

"So your brother knows where you live?" Arthur asked, his voice raising in worry.

"I'm not sure. It's common for Brad to try and trick you. When you think he's watching your every move, you panic and give up on your own." I put my head in my hands.

"Are you feeling alright?" Arthur asked.

"I'm fine." I said. "I'm just tired. I'm tired of running from him."

"We're done with this information. I just needed to tell you what he's done. Would you like to rest?" Arthur suggested.

"Why are you so kind today, Mr. Kirkland?" I asked teasingly.

Arthur gave me a sad smile. "I always care for the way a lady treats herself."

The familiar line made my heart pull. I smiled at the Englishman. "I missed you." I said.

"I missed you too." Arthur said. He paused to think. "Would you like to go on a trail ride?" He offered.

I smiled, brightened up by a trail ride. Brad didn't make any moves, so we had to wait for him to confront us or make himself known before we took action.

"English saddle or Western?" I asked.

…

"There's a nice stream up here." I said. "It's got a great view of the ranch."

"I'd love to see it." Arthur said. He pulled back on Patchwork's reins to prevent him from charging ahead of Vivian.

I pushed Vivian through the trees, pushing the branches out of the way as she went. Patch took the chance to bolt when Vivian was confused about the branches. They always had friendly competition with each other, but with Arthur, it really wasn't the time. Not that Patchwork cared. I urged Vivian to catch up to Patch so I could stop him.

Instead of getting mad, Arthur laughed and leaned forward to make Patch go faster. I glared at the Englishman and I let go of Vivian's reins, holding onto her mane, so she could go as fast as she wanted without me controlling her. Vivian flew past Patchwork. Both boys were surprised at our sudden move, which helped us get ahead even more. I heard the pounding of hooves as Arthur caught up to us.

"I did a lot of foxhunting in my days!" Arthur yelled. "Are you sure you want to race me?"

I smirked and lightly kicked Vivian to go faster. She stretched out her legs to move faster. Dirt went flying. Vivian's breath grew longer to aid her in her flight. I took a deep breath and curled against Vivian, my head low to her neck. Arthur followed, keeping the wild Patch in line with foot and rein corrections. Unfortunately for Arthur, Vivian was made for long distance racing. While Patch took the lead for a while, he grew tired and started to drop back. The girl team sprung ahead with extra vigor in our blood. Arthur yelled and tried to catch up.

I laughed, but I soon stopped when the path in the woods grew faint and trees started to block our path. Vivian made her way around the trees carefully, trying not to hit them. Patch, being a quarter horse, leaped at the chance to do some ala barrel-racing moves. He used his weight to shift side-to-side and work around the trees in a way that was too risky for the delicate Viv. He caught up and passed us, Arthur doing nothing more than lightly guiding him around the trees, letting the horse use his skills.

The trees cut off, revealing a large meadow and stream. The area was not mine, but no one lived there, so I often take trail rides in this area. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Arthur lose his balance from Patch's tree stunt. After we got out of the woods, Patch bolted and made a small jump, disturbing the nice weaving rhythm that Arthur just got used to. Arthur fell off Patch and went tumbling to the ground. I quickly grabbed Vivian's reins and pulled her over to Arthur.

I was getting off of Viv when the running-free-and-wild Patch ran past Viv, trying to get her to play. Vivian jumped as Patch faked pushing her. I lost my footing getting down when Viv jumped and I ended up falling over Arthur, who was just getting up. There was an awkward moment when we realized I was on top of Arthur, but we both laughed at the silly mistake and I helped Arthur up.

"I told you, you should have changed into something else!" I complained to Arthur. He brushed off his suit.

"I've got plenty at home. I would usually complain about this, but that was so bloody fun!" Arthur laughed, which was rare for the gentleman. "Beautiful place you found here, Natalina!"

I smiled. "You think so? I just found it when I was taking a ride on Patch." I glanced at the two horses. They were drinking from the stream, recovering from their playing.

Arthur sat down on the ground. I joined him, picking random wildflowers that were around us. Arthur did the same thing. He tucked a little blue flower behind my ear. His green eyes pulled my own eyes into his. He didn't blink. He slowly moved closer to me. I could feel his breath against my lips. I pulled away.

"Look, Arthur, I know I'm still important for the chip, but I think-"

"No! God no, Natalina!" Arthur said. "I'm not playing that little 'Love Game'." He blushed. "I was wondering if we…if we could…could start over. Because, I think I might lo-"

"Wait." I made him stop when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was my horses. Their necks were tense. Ears alert. Noses sniffing the air. "Something's wrong with the horses." I said.

I watched the horses. They turned to look out at one area. I followed their gaze and gasped. Beyond the trees, there was a huge plume of smoke. I turned to Arthur. "My ranch!"

…

I coughed as we galloped to the ranch. It was in flames. I got off of Vivian and ran to the barn. Arthur grabbed my arm.

"Don't!" Arthur warned. "Don't go in there!"

"My pets are in there!" I yelled. I tore my arm away from him and ran into the barn. Everything had caught fire. I avoided a beam that fell down. It sparked flames and burning ashes. The entire hayloft looked like it would come down at any moment. I ran to find my dog. Danny was inside the burning house. I grabbed him by his collar and led him out the house door. I ran back in and tried to find Chelsea. She was nowhere to be found. I ran into the house part of the ranch and ran upstairs to my room. Chelsea was curled up under my bed. I picked her up and held her to me. I didn't know if she was breathing. Her eyes were closed. I coughed up smoke and the heat from the nearby flames that consumed the curtains. I got up to run, but I turned back to open up my sock drawer to get something.

A gun.

It was a gun that Lovino, Antonio, Gilbert and Alfred got me as a secret birthday present. They suspected my brother would come back for me and take me by force, so I needed to protect myself when that happened. The others didn't want me to have anything dangerous around, so the gun was a secret between the five of us.

I reached into my sock drawer and grabbed the gun. I yelled in pain when the gun's hot metal burned my hand. I bit my lip and picked it up again, hiding the gun in the fabric of my shirt so I wouldn't burn myself anymore.

I ran out of the house. I was coughing, holding the hidden gun and barn cat in my arms. Arthur ran over to me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled.

I nearly collapsed in his arms, coughing and panting. Chelsea gave a soft mewl, letting me know she was still alive. I gave a soft laugh and patted the cat's head. I rested my head against Arthur's chest. He wrapped his arms around me. "At least you're safe." He commented.

I turned to see my beautiful ranch fall apart in fire. I closed my eyes and sighed. "That's my brother's doing." I said.

"Why would he burn your home down?" Arthur asked.

"If he's not killing us now, he must have left us here. He's forcing me to go with you." I said. "Very Machiavellian of him. He sends you the murder file on the girl, making you come see me, then he burns down my ranch so I have no home. Now I have no choice but to go with you or have you leave me here. I know which one you want, Mr. Kirkland." I gave a little smile. "That's my brother, alright." I said sarcastically.

Arthur hugged my shoulder. "Let me call someone to get your horses. Follow me."


	2. Chapter 2

_*****Intense...intense...yeah, you get the point.*****_

"Nat!" Alfred yelled. He pulled me into one of his killer hugs. He backed up and looked at me, his face going from happy to worried. "You don't look so good."

"She looks like shit." Lovino said, coming up to the little group.

Arthur had a meeting with the others the day after my house burned down. I tagged along to the meeting so my group of friends could talk about what to do with me.

I felt someone pull my head up by my chin. I looked into Ludwig's blue eyes as he examined me. "You are paler than my brother." Ludwig said. "What happened?"

"It was nothing." I lied.

"_Bella_, what is wrong?" Feliciano asked, trotting behind his brother to the little group. "I was glad to hear that you are here, but there must be a reason why you are not at home."

"Because there is no home." I said. "My brother burned it down."

Everyone turned to the silent Arthur, who nodded in agreement with what I said.

"So your brother is back?" Kiku asked.

I nodded.

"What happened to your horses? And your pets?" Yao asked.

"I have a friend looking after the pets." I said.

"And I have people looking after the horses." Arthur said.

"So the _bella_ can stay at my place!" Feliciano beamed.

"Your place isn't safe!" Alfred said. "She needs to stay at a hero's place."

"She can stay at your house when she dies!" Yao stated. "It is not safe for her! She-"

Ludwig nudged Yao and pointed at me. Yao's words about me dying made me paler than I already was. I turned my face away from the crowd and hugged my body, trying not to show fear. Ludwig put a hand on my shoulder.

"We will keep you safe." Ludwig said.

"Everyone here is crazy." I said. "If you all were sane, you'd let my brother find me and kill me. It would save all of this trouble."

"Like hell we would leave you!" Lovino said. "You are important to us! We just need to find a place for you to stay that is safe."

"I think that place is with me, _non_?" Someone said. We all turned to see Francis sauntering up to the group. He strolled over to me and picked me up into his arms. He tried to French kiss me as if it was as easy as drinking water. Ludwig pulled me out of Francis' arms like a doll by my waist.

"Francis, we've been here before." Ludwig warned. "Don't make things hard for us. For Natalina." Ludwig put me down on the ground.

"Ah, _mi amigos_, you know you could never win a lady's heart like that. And she likes me better." Antonio said. He came up to the group and picked me up princess-style, burying his head in my neck, kissing it and saying little things in Spanish into my ear. My eyes pleaded for help from my friends. Alfred came to my rescue and took me out of the Spaniard's arms.

"Everyone, cool it!" Arthur barked

"What do you mean, she likes you better?" Francis growled, ignoring Arthur's warning.

Antonio shrugged. "I've done more for her."

"What do you mean by that?" The Frenchman barked.

Antonio wrapped an arm around me. "Well, I've taken her to clubs, had my people make her clothes and I've played romantic guitar in the mornings for her. What did you do for her, Francis? You struggled on your bed with her!"

I blushed a deep red and everyone gave a small gasp.

After I was released from the hospital, we all swore that we wouldn't tell anyone what happened during the Love Game. We didn't want people fighting over me yet again. This time around, I needed my friends for protection from my brother and Ivan.

"At least _I _didn't waste my time!" Francis said.

"At least _I _nearly got her naked!" Antonio fired back.

I gave a small gasp. In my defense, Lovino punched Antonio in the jaw, shutting up the man.

Antonio looked at my red face and faltered. "Ah, _mi amor_! I didn't mean it. I-"

I pushed past Antonio. Everyone cleared a little space for me.

"I thought we made a deal, Antonio." I said. "You all promised to keep it a secret."

I pushed my way out of the little group. "I'm sorry I bothered you guys. I'll find my own way out of this mess. I'm sorry I involved you guys in this."

Ludwig tried to run after me, but I kept walking away. I was about to go outside, when I ran into someone. The air became tense and I looked up at the man with shock.

Ivan smiled at me. "Ah, hello there!" He cheerfully said. "I'm glad to see you! Are you doing well?"

I stood there, not able to move. I wasn't in rabbit mode or lion mode. I was frozen to the spot, waiting for the Russian who nearly killed me to make a move. Ivan saw my face and gave a small laugh. "Don't worry. I'm not working for your brother right now. I was here for the meeting. I'll be going now." Ivan turned and walked away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Natalina! I'll enjoy ripping you limb from limb like I did to your mother!" He waved at me as he left.

Everyone ran up to me, asking me f I was ok. My blood went cold with Ivan's words. My mother…that was right…Ivan killed my mother… I felt like I couldn't think. My brain just went dead when I saw the Russian. Then I started to see black dots in my vision. I tried to blink them away, but the dots didn't fade.

"What the hell! Say something!" Lovino ordered.

As a response to my friends, I promptly passed out because of the shock. As my vision went black, the last words I heard were out of Lovino's mouth: "Oh shit."


	3. Chapter 3

_*****Bwahaha! You can't hide from me, SuperAwesomeDia! I have found you and your fanfics and you can't run now! Everyone, join me and read SuperAwesomeDia's fanfic. She's coming out with her new sequel for her OC story and she needs all the fanfic love that she can get! **_

_**Anyways…**_

_**So, the easiest way for me to find my fanfics is through Google. When I search up "Tell me this is a dream", "tell me this is a dream Hetalia" is the second search result! I am so happy! I feel like Spain who just gained an underling. I'm on Google! My fanfic is on Google! **_

_**Warnings: Gilbert. 'Nough said.*** **_

"Giiiirrrlllyyyyy…giiiiirrrrllyyy…You! Wake up!"

I gave a small yell and jumped up, hitting the headboard of a bed. I grabbed my head and looked up at Gilbert, who smiled back at me from the end of the bed, where he was sitting.

"Hey! You're up! Great!" Gilbert said.

I groaned and looked around the room. I was in Ludwig's bed in his house in Germany.

"Gilbert, how did I get here?" I asked, rubbing my sore head.

"You so unawesomely passed out in front of everyone, so West brought you here until you woke up." Gilbert said. He poked my leg. "West went out shopping for lunch and left me here with you. You're not fun when you're passed out."

"I think the point of passing out is the fact that it's not fun." I said, sighing at the Prussian.

"Well, anyways, since the awesome me has woken you up, I guess we should do something now." Gilbert said. He took out something from his pocket and started polishing it using Ludwig's bed sheets.

"Gilbert…what the hell is that?" I asked.

"A gun?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "How can you not know what a gun is? Really…"

"No, why is it in the room?" I asked.

"Let's see…maybe because you have a crazy Russian after you?" Gilbert retorted.

"Ok, point taken." I said.

Just then, I heard someone slam a door shut.

"Bruder! I'm home!" Someone called.

"In the bedroom, West!" Gilbert yelled.

Ludwig poked his head into the room. "Ah. Nice to see you alive, Miss Natalina."

"Nice to see you too, Ludwig." I said.

"The girly just woke up." Gilbert said. "So can we eat? You did bring lunch, right?"

Ludwig nodded. "_Ja, ja_, I did bring lunch." He turned to me. "Care to join us?"

…

"Things around here haven't been the same since you left." Ludwig said over lunch at the kitchen table.

"For once, I realized that Ludwig's cooking sucked after you cooked for us." Gilbert said. I gave a small smile to both of the brothers.

"So, after lunch, I have a business meeting here in the house with another country and after that, I can take you to another safe place, if you want." Ludwig said.

"Aw, c'mon West! Our house is plenty safe for the girly! Right?" Gilbert turned to me, pleading in his eyes. "Can you stay? Please? _Please?_" Gilbert begged. He folded his hands like he was praying.

I smiled. "Well, if that's alright with my hosts. Or else I'll be happy to leave."

Gilbert jumped up from the table and made a victory lap around the table. "I get to have the girly!" He sang. He ran to me and hugged me, nearly knocking me out of my seat.

"_Bruder, _She is not yours. She's not a toy." Ludwig said. "Quit acting like you own her!"

"So if I can't have the girly, can I at least set you two up on a hot date?"

"WHAT?" Ludwig and I yelled. Gilbert hugged my shoulder.

"You see, little girly, my _bruder_ here has a crush on you. Like, major uber big crush. He dreams of you at night. So, it would make him really happy if you would let him take you out."

Ludwig looked like he was going to bury himself in a hole. "_Bruder, _you can stop talking now." Ludwig warned his older brother.

"You dream of me?" I asked, looking at the German. Ludwig tried to protest, but Gilbert cut him off.

"Oh yeah!" Gilbert laughed. "I hear him, moaning your name at night. Tossing and turning, saying: 'Oh, Natalina…Natalina…_ich leibe dich_, Natalina…I'll save you, Natalina…I won't let him hurt you, Natalina…' He's very cute."

"_Bruder_! How dare you speak of my personal life in front of her!" Ludwig yelled.

Gilbert smiled. "Personal life? How can it be personal when she's in it?" Gilbert nudged me. "Hey, if you finish eating, I can show you some baby pictures of West! He's so cute when he's in the tub!"

I think it took all of Ludwig's self control not to kill his brother right there and then. I couldn't help but snort, trying to hold in the laughter at seeing Ludwig's red face.

"_Bruder_, I swear to _Gott _I'm going to kill you!" Ludwig said. The two brothers ended up fighting in German while I watched them.

After what seemed like an hour of them fighting, someone rang the doorbell. I took the chance to get out of the war-zone of a kitchen and answer the door.

Violet eyes looked inquisitively at me from behind a pair of glasses. Ludwig shoved his older brother down the stairs to his brother's room in the basement before joining me at the door.

"Ah, how nice to see you, Austria." Ludwig said.

"Austria" looked me up and down before turning to Ludwig. "Congratulations on finding a girl, Germany. I nearly gave up on you."

I blushed and Ludwig narrowed his eyes at the man.

"This is Natalina. Natalina, meet Roderich, also known as the country of Austria." Ludwig said.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Roderich. I love your country." I said politely.

"You know about my country?" Roderich asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My mother was a world traveler." I said. "I went to Austria with her."

Roderich nodded stiffly. "Thank you. Anyways, Germany, I'm here to talk to you about some paperwork."

Ludwig nodded. "Natalina, could you stay with my brother? You can talk him out for a walk."

I gave a small laugh. "Is your brother a dog? I need to take him out on a walk?"

Ludwig smiled back. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Now go play with Gilbert."

I turned around and went downstairs to get Gilbert for his "walk".

…

"Yo girly! Are you coming?" Gilbert yelled. I ran after the Prussian man, who had sprinted down the road. I looked around.

Ludwig's house was in a little quaint town. While the view from his house was modern living, with houses all around Ludwig's, if you walked just a little bit down the road, the trees grew tell and strong, shading the road and making the town look older.

"Nice place." I said.

"Thanks, Nat!" Gilbert said. "Our pride and joy is all here in Germany!"

I smiled and walked with Gilbert. "So, any places you want to visit?"

Gilbert thought for a minute. "How about the lake?" He suggested. I nodded and Gilbert nearly pulled my arm off taking my hand and running to the lake.

…

"Wow!" I gasped. The lake was so beautiful. I could see all around the lake, so it wasn't huge. But the green grass and little boats on the lake made up for its lack of size. Crystal clear water shone and reflected the sunlight.

Gilbert took me to the water's edge. I felt like a little kid, looking in the water and smiling at the little fishes that swam by.

"Ludwig and I used to come fishing here all the time." Gilbert said. "I, being the most awesome one, caught more fish than my little brother."

"Aw, poor Ludwig. Did you share?" I teased.

"Of course! I'm just so awesome I'll share my fishes." Gilbert said.

We walked along the water's edge. Gilbert and I sat on one of the boat docks. I took off my shoes and swung my legs of the end of the dock, enjoying the way the water just touched my bare feet.

Gilbert held up a hand. "I'll go get some snacks! Be back!"

Gilbert ran off. I smiled and closed my eyes, taking in the smell of the lake and the feeling of the warm breeze.

"I told you I would be back, _da_?" Someone said.

I jumped and turned around, only to have my arm gripped tightly. I looked into the violet eyes of Ivan, who smiled at me.

"I'd love to drown you now, but I have to take you back to your brother." Ivan said.

I took a deep breath and screamed as loudly as I could. I don't think Ivan expected me to scream, but he didn't show it.

"Gilbert!" I yelled. I tried to get out of Ivan's grasp, but I found it too hard. He was stronger than Ludwig or Alfred. Ivan picked me up by my shirt.

"I take you to your brother now, _da?_" Ivan said.

I sank my teeth into Ivan's arm and tried to kick him in the chest. I got out of his grip, but Ivan grabbed me by my arm again and tried to cover my mouth.

"Natalina!" I heard someone yell. I turned to see Gilbert running towards us. He barreled into Ivan and knocked both of us off the dock. I closed my eyes and tried to hold my breath as I hit the water. I felt someone grab my hand and pull me up. I looked up at Gilbert, who pulled me out of the water and dragged me off the dock.

Gilbert and I ran as fast as we could to get home. I staggered behind the faster Gilbert, who pulled me along.

"C'mon, girly." Gilbert said. It was the most serious I've ever seen Gilbert. "We've got to get home!"

I grunted as a reply and followed Gilbert, now looking back to see if Ivan was following us. The lead pipe nearly hitting my head confirmed that Ivan was right behind us. Gilbert swore and ran into the woods, which started to grow thicker as we ran. We zigzagged around the trees in hopes of losing Ivan. I saw Ludwig's house through the trees and started to run faster.

We barged through the trees onto Ludwig's lawn. Gilbert opened the door and closed it behind us, locking the door and running inside, still holding my hand.

"Germany! We've got trouble!" Gilbert yelled.

"What is it? Austria just left-" Ludwig said. He came out of the living room, a book in his hand.

"It's Russia." Gilbert said.

Ludwig dropped the book and ran to get something. He came back with two handguns and handed one to Gilbert. I ran and got my own gun from Ludwig's room, where I was staying when I passed out. The gun was hidden in my pocket, along with a foldable holster. I buckled the holster to my hip and ran out of the room, holding the gun. Ludwig's eyes went wide when he saw the gun in my hands.

"You gave her a gun?" Ludwig yelled.

Gilbert shrugged. "She knows how to use it. Why not?"

Ludwig was about to protest, but I pulled back the slide on the gun and held it, ready to fire. Ludwig started at my seriousness and handling of the gun. Then, Ivan slammed on the door, making the door creak.

"Here's the plan:" Ludwig said. "I'll hold him off. You two head out the back door and get in the car while he's distracted. When he turns around to see you guys take off, I'll get past him and join you guys. As soon as we're on the road, we'll figure out a plan from there."

Gilbert and I nodded, thinking of the plan and how to get done.

"Now!" Ludwig yelled. Gilbert and I turned and we ran to the back door. We heard the door splinter open and Ludwig fire his gun. Gilbert opened up the back door and we ran around Ludwig's house. We jumped into Ludwig's car. I fired my gun just above Ivan's head (I didn't want to take the risk of shooting Ivan and hit Ludwig accidentally). Ivan turned to us and Ludwig darted past him. Ivan took the chance of Ludwig being near him and swung his lead pipe at Ludwig. Ludwig yelled and I heard bone crushing as a deep cut appeared on Ludwig's arm. Ludwig dropped the gun he was holding to hold his hurt arm. The gun fired and a bullet bounced off the car and hit one of the lights by the garage. The light bulb broke and glass went flying. As Ivan ducked to avoid the glass, Ludwig opened up the back door of his car and jumped in. Ludwig didn't even have time to shut the door before Gilbert grabbed the key and started up the car. Gilbert backed up and I felt Ludwig grab my shirt and pull me down as a lead pipe hit the car window and penetrate the car seat as if the pipe was an arrow. Gilbert speeded away from the house as I crawled to the back seat with Ludwig. The first thing I did was unarm my gun and put it in the little holster I had on my hip. The air grew quiet as Gilbert drove way above the speed limit.

Ludwig put a hand to my cheek. "You're shaking." Ludwig said.

"I'm fine." I lied. I gave Ludwig a smile. "I'm ok."

I looked out the window and took a deep breath. Way to go, Natalina. You nearly killed your friends. Again.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Nattie? Are you awake?" My mother asked me. I opened one eye to the sound of waves against sand. I looked up at my mother, who was sitting next to me. She had on a huge sunhat and she was wearing a bathing suit. I sat up to find myself on a beach with my mother. There was no one else around for miles and miles. Just us. _

"_I'm awake, Mom." I said. I looked down and found myself in a bikini. _

"_Good! I thought we'd take a walk on the dock." _

_I looked and saw a dock out on the water. "I'd love to take a walk, Mom." _

_We walked on the dock, no boats or anything. _

"_I've missed you, Mom." I said. _

"_I missed you too, sweetie!" My mom said. She stopped and pointed at the water. "Look! It's a reef! Do you see the fish in it?" _

_I bent down to the water to see the fish. "Yeah. I see it…wait…" _

_Something about this seemed familiar. I knew it. I nearly drowned when I did this. My brother saved me. _

_As soon as I thought about it, I fell into the water. I reached up to try and find the surface of the water. I couldn't find anything. I took in a deep breath and I felt the water in my lungs. I saw my brother reach down for me and pull me up above the water. He smiled at me. _

"_Hey rebel!" He teased. _

"_Brad! Help me!" I gasped. _

_He shrugged. "Nah. I should never have saved you that day at the beach. I won't save you now. See you, sis!" He dropped my hand and I felt myself slipping into the water again. _

I gasped and sat up. I looked around. I was still in Ludwig's car. We had pulled over to rest for the night. I was in the backseat of the car with Ludwig, while Gilbert sat in the front seat. I curled up against the window and rested my head against the glass.

I felt an arm wrap around me and looked up to see Ludwig. "Bad dream?" He asked.

I nodded and looked out at the dark night. I turned my eyes towards Ludwig as he stroked my hair. I put my knees to my chest and slowly exhaled, trying not to show the traumatizing emotions I was feeling from the dream.

Ludwig pulled me to his chest. I curled up into his strong arms. "So, now that I've nearly killed you both, where do we go?"

"We are under orders from the others to meet at Feliciano's house and discuss who should take you in next."

"Take me in?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Our house is not safe for you anymore." Ludwig said.

"But I like your house." I said into his chest.

Ludwig chuckled, his deep voice shaking his chest. "But you are not safe there. That is the most important thing right now. That you're safe."

I nodded slowly. Ludwig rubbed my back with his strong hand. "Get some rest now." He said.

"Ok." I said. Before I fell asleep, Ludwig pulled my chin up and lightly kissed me on the lips. I gave a soft gasp at the contact.

Ludwig took my head in my hands. "Natalina, I promise you I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Ludwig, I'm just not sure-" I started.

Ludwig kissed me again. "_Ich leibe dich_, Natalina."

I was about to say something along the lines of: "I'm still not over the emotions from the Love Game _and_ my brother trying to kill me", but Gilbert took the reins by turning to face us from his place in the front seat.

"I'll put a curtain up tomorrow, but for the love of _Gott _can you both sleep for now?" Gilbert said, opening one blood-red eye to look at us. We both blushed and I hid my face in Ludwig's chest again.

…

"Yo! Girly! We're here!" Someone yelled.

"_Bruder, _hush! Can't you see she's sleeping?"

I opened one eye to find the door of the car open. Gilbert had stuck his head back in the car, his red eyes staring me down. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Ludwig pulled his brother back by the collar of Gilbert's shirt and stuck his own head into the car.

"Natalina, we're at Feliciano and Lovino's house. Will you be joining us?"

I stepped out of the car. "Yes, I'm coming with you guys." I said.

The first thing I noticed was that this was not the house that Feli brought me to when I still had the chip. It was a huge mansion. If I took time to look at the large lawn, I would notice the patio and fountain. The house was an old Italian style mansion with cream colored walls and ivy climbing up the sides. I wondered how old the house was. Ludwig knocked on the front door. Feliciano poked his head out.

"_Ciao_, _So che il camion di pasta viene prima il sabato, ma__-"_ Feliciano paused when he finally realized who was at the door. He furrowed his eyebrows. "So soon?" He asked Ludwig.

"He found us yesterday. Can we come inside?" Ludwig seemed grave and he kept looking around, as if Ivan was right behinds us.

"_Si! Si!" _Feli said, letting us into his house.

Yep. It was huge. The first room we stood in was round, with doors to other rooms and a long hallway in the back that lead to the back door. And more rooms. In this large, round room, there was a staircase the spiraled up to another floor.

"Welcome to our home!" Feliciano said. "I know this isn't the one you know, Natalina. That was my smaller home in England. I use it as a place to stay if I'm traveling over Northern Europe. This is my main home I share with my _fratello_. He also has a home in Southern Italy, but that's not important." Feliciano escorted us into a sitting room. "What's important is what happened to the _bella_."

"Ivan found Gilbert and Natalina at a lake. They escaped back to our home and we took off." Ludwig said.

Feliciano frowned. "Oh, that sounds bad! I'll call everyone else and-"

"I already contacted everyone else." Ludwig said. "They'll be here by noon."

Feliciano jumped up. "I'm having guests and I don't have any pasta ready! I'll go make some!"

"No! We don't have to-" Ludwig started.

Feliciano turned to Ludwig. Feli's lip trembled. "But…Germany…I want to make pasta for my friends…"

I turned to Ludwig and gave a pouty face. "Ludwig, Feliciano is sad. Let him make pasta."

"Oh…oh alright." Ludwig grumbled.

Feliciano cheered. He grabbed my hand. "Since you are so nice, you'll help me make pasta! Lovino will be coming back here with tomatoes, so you can start the sauce!"

"Wait, I-" I didn't have time to say anything before I was dragged into the kitchen.

…

"Hweh!" Was the closest thing to the sound of wind being knocked out of my lungs when Alfred collided into me.

"Good to see you, Nat!" Alfred said. He wrapped his arms around me. I knew I would be crushed into another one of Alfred's hugs, so I took that little time I had before he'd squeeze me to death to wiggle out of his arms and grab his hands in an endearing way.

"Alfred, you don't have to hug me like that every time we see each other." I smiled kindly. "It's only been, what, like a day and a half since I saw you at the conference?"

Alfred smiled. "Yeah, but you're so awesome, you need a big American hug every time I see you, fellow American patriot!"

I gave a small laugh and squeezed Alfred's hands. "Good to see you too, Alfred."

"Great to see you too!" Alfred said.

"How great is it to see the person who should be safe in Ludwig's home?" Arthur said, letting himself inside Feliciano's house.

"Hey! Hey! Who the hell told you guys you could just walk in?" Lovino yelled from the kitchen. He poked his head out of the door kitchen door. "Take off your shoes at the door on the mat! And for God's sake, knock, would you?"

Arthur took off his shoes and rolled his eyes and smiled at me. "Hello, Natalina."

Like the gentleman he always was, he took my hand and kissed it. Alfred made a gagging noise and pulled me into the living room, Arthur trailing behind us.

"Ah, Natalina!" Francis said, honey in his voice. "How lovely to see you!"

I gave Francis the hairy eyeball before turning to the living room, which was filling up with my friends' presents. Gilbert ran up to me and tried to swing me around the room (thank God Lovino wasn't there – he would murder Gilbert for nearly knocking into a painting).

"Girly, Feliciano wants you in the kitchen to help set the table." Gilbert said.

"Ok, ok, I'll be right there." I said. I nodded at Alfred and Arthur before running to the kitchen to get plates. I carried the large stack into the dining room and nearly dropped the plates. Tony turned to face me with his large red eyes.

'What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"_Alfred asked me to attend your human meal ritual of the evening to monitor if Ivan is nearby or if there are any traitors." _Tony said.

I glared at the alien. Let's just say Tony was not my favorite person ever since he told Alfred all about the chip because he could read my mind. That and he called me "bitch" when I was in the hospital. The little creep.

"Fine. Just make yourself at home." I grumbled. I arranged the plates on the table before returning to Feliciano's kitchen to get forks and knives.

Somehow, the little pasta meal for the countries turned into a full-blown dinner. We all sat around the large table, making small talk and really just avoiding the real questions. Alfred looked at Tony and broke the silence that was forming.

"Tony says we all have the chip on our minds. So let's just talk." Alfred said.

"Why did you invite the alien?" Arthur grumbled.

"In case anyone is spying on us! Tony would know if there's a traitor or spy in the house." Alfred said.

It seemed logical, so everyone stopped worrying about Tony and turned to Ludwig for a report about why we were all here.

Ludwig cleared his throat. "Well, Ivan found Gilbert and Natalina yesterday when they went out to a nearby lake for a walk. They ran home and we fled, coming here."

Kiku (who brought his own chopsticks to eat his pasta with) asked: "Did Ivan say anything to you, Natalina-san?"

I thought about it. "He told me he was going to take me to my brother."

"Here's a question: what does your brother want?" Yao asked.

"Yeah." Antonio said. "I mean, he has the chip, right? Why would he want you now?" "I shrugged. My mother's last letter rang in my ears. _The chip has another secret. You need a password when you get up to a certain point. I will now trust you with this password. This is in case the chip is ever stolen and you are still alive. The password is the nickname of a wonderful girl that I knew. You should be able to figure it out from there. _"Maybe he just wants to kill me. Finish the job that he thought he finished when he took the chip. I mean, he _was_ supposed to kill me." I said. A shiver ran down my spine. Good Lord, I was talking about my own brother killing me.

Gilbert narrowed his eyes. "Why?" He asked.

I frowned. "'Why'? Because he wants to kill me."

"Why?" Gilbert asked. I wondered if he knew I was hiding something. I didn't want to say anything because this password secret was the one thing my mother left me that only I knew.

It's complicated." I said.

"Why?" Gilbert asked.

"Gilbert, what are you getting at?" I asked. "I told you, it's nothing. He just wants to kill me."

"Why?" Gilbert asked. "What happened inside that prison cell when he took the chip out? What did your brother say to you?"

"He didn't say anything." I snapped back. "What he said to me doesn't matter!" Oh yeah, lion mode. I needed to fight this one out.

"He must have said something." Gilbert said. Everyone grew still. "Oh, even better, what did your mother say to you?"

I slowly stood up, Gilbert mirroring my actions. "Keep my mother out of this." I growled. They could yell about my brother all they wanted, they could tease about my father's protectiveness over me, but they could not talk about my mother. I tried so hard to put my mind at ease over her death. They would not open up old wounds.

"But this is where it all started, right? Your mother." Gilbert said. He slowly came around the table. "So what did she say? What was her 'message from beyond the grave'? Huh?"

"I didn't have any more letters." I said. "She stopped writing because I think she was killed. Plus, my brother always gave me the letters. He would have it." I said.

Gilbert glared at me. "Why are you lying to us?" He demanded.

Arthur stood up from the table. "This is outrageous! Why would she lie?"

Ludwig also stood up. "Let it go, Gilbert. You're overreacting!"

"What are you hiding?" Gilbert asked me.

"Nothing!" I said. I backed up, trying to widen the gap between Gilbert and me.

Gilbert lunged at me, grabbing my wrist. Everyone shouted and Ludwig and Alfred started to come around the table.

"What don't you want us to know?" Gilbert yelled. "Tell me!"

"I don't know anything!" I yelled back.

Gilbert smirked. "Oh yeah?" He turned to the alien that was sitting next to Alfred's seat. "Tony! Who in this room is lying?"

Everyone froze to see the alien. He raised a hand and pointed at me. Arthur turned to me and then to Tony and then back to me.

"Why? What's going on?" Arthur demanded.

"What are you hiding?" Yao asked.

"Nothing!" I yelled.

Gilbert turned to Tony again. "Tony, what is she hiding?"

I shook my head at the alien. Everyone froze to see the scene unfold. "Please, Tony." I said. "Please don't tell them."

Tony didn't move.

_Tony, this secret is the only thing I have left of my mother that only _I_ know. This means so much to me. I disappointed her so many times. Please, Tony, I have to keep this. I have to. _I thought. I hoped the alien would hear my plea. Tony turned to Alfred, who was halfway around the table.

Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. "Nat, Tony says you're begging him not to tell anyone. What's wrong?"

I shook my head violently. "No. I can't tell you. I can't."

Lovino came around the table. "I was with the Mafia." He growled in my ear so no one else could hear. "Don't make me force you to tell."

"Try me." I said. "I'm made of harder material than that."

"Natalina, the only way for us to help you is if you tell us." Gilbert said.

"I can't say it." I said. I felt like I was going to cry. _Mom, please let me find the resistance to keep this secret._

Lovino held up my head by my chin. "Tell me." He demanded.

I growled at Lovino. "Are you deaf? I told you, I can't tell you anything."

Lovino slapped me across the face. Ludwig grabbed Lovino and pulled him away as I backed into Gilbert from the shock.

"Enough of this!" Ludwig yelled. He turned to me. "Natalina, you have our trust. We will always protect you, but we need to know what we are protecting you from. Before a fistfight starts, tell us!"

I couldn't help it. I let a tear fall down my face. "I can't tell you! She would be so mad at me! I can't let her get mad at me. I gave it all away already!" I started to cry. "I can't let her be mad! No! I need to let her go. She needs to rest!"

Gilbert let go of my wrist. I wrapped my arms around myself.

"Please. Let her rest. I don't want her to be mad. I can't let her part like that." I said, starting to really cry. "Please."

"Your mother…" Kiku mumbled.

"What did she say?" Francis asked.

I started to sob. "She put so much hope in me and I let it get away."

Feliciano ran over to me and wrapped his arms around me. "_Bella, _hush." Feli said. "It's going to be ok. Come sit down with Feli and talk about it, ok?"

I whimpered and nodded. At least someone in the room was nice.

Feli took me by the hand and followed by everyone else, we sat down in the living room.

"She gave me one more letter." I said. "I can't tell you what she said."

"Fine." Lovino said, passing me a hankie. "Then answer this one: what did your brother tell you when you were in that cell?"

I looked at the ground. "He wanted to be the one. The one to carry the chip. He was older."

"That's interesting." Ludwig said. "Why did your mother pick you? The younger one?"

I took a deep breath. It wasn't a secret, right? It was family history. "Well, it's a long story, but what happened was: my brother grew up too fast. He was very smart, but he loved being with his friends too much. We are close in age, three years apart, but Brad got sucked into the "friends circle". The group that ignores parents. So, I traveled the world with my mother while Brad complained about traveling. He stopped coming with us and stayed with my dad at home. I really got to know my mother. I guess she chose me because she knew I would never abuse the chip's purpose."

"So he's after the chip for revenge." Lovino said. "He got the chip. What does he want now?"

"That's between me and my mother." I said sternly.

Everyone nodded, finally getting the fact that I wouldn't let the secret out.

"So where should she stay?" Arthur asked.

Everyone raised their hand to vouch for themselves. After seeing the show of hands, they all started to fight over me. I rolled my eyes. "Draw straws." I said.

Everyone growled and snapped something at me before Feliciano went into his kitchen to get some straws.

"Right." Feliciano said, returning to the others. "Whoever draws the shortest straw gets to keep Natalina."

Everyone picked out a straw. After comparing the straws, Ludwig sighed and said: "Well, it seems, Natalina, that you'll be staying with…"

_*****Dun dun duuunnnnn! Cliffhangers! Love them! **_

_**Note: My sister, SuperAwesomeDia, has a DeviantArt account! Take a look and send good thoughts her way! She's a good artist~. **_


	5. Chapter 5

"…America…" Everyone groaned.

Alfred fist-pumped the air. Gilbert slammed his fist down on an end table in a child-like temper. He knocked over Lovino's wine, which made Lovino yell at Gilbert, for knocking over the wine, as well as Ludwig for not controlling his brother. Arthur started to scold Alfred for treating me like a prize, while Francis tried to talk Alfred out of taking me, insisting that_ he_ was the one to watch over me. Antonio tried to comfort Lovino, saying that Lovi got mad at Gilbert because he was jealous that Alfred was going to take me in. Meanwhile, Feliciano started to cry like I would die the following morning. Kiku tried to calm everyone down, only resulting in making himself more anxious over the whole fight. Yao sat in a corner complaining about the younger countries fighting. While everyone yelled at each other, I got up and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water (well, actually, to take myself away from the fight). I saw the door to the patio and took the time to sit outside, getting away from the yelling in the living room. I took a pillow off of a lawn chair and screamed into it, cursing myself (for starting this mess), my mother (for the chip), my brother (for setting a psycho Russian loose on me) and _all_ the countries in the world (for not being able to get along with one another for two seconds). After a short breather, I went back into the kitchen. I stopped when I heard soft whispering.

"I think she went to the bathroom." Gilbert said.

"Good." Ludwig said. "Now let's talk. Japan, what's the news from your spies?"

"Russian forces have moved into Belarus and Ukraine. There are plans to move forces to the Baltic States as well."

"Of course Russia would use his sisters and his slaves to get his forces into the other countries." Antonio said. "Was that part of the plan on the chip?"

"Yes. I think it was." Ludwig said. "I attended Professor Vivian Ayers' lectures. She did talk about using allied countries to start wars with bordering countries."

Everyone grew quiet.

"This is going to be World War III and Russia will win." Arthur said bitterly.

"So many countries have atomic bombs." Alfred said. "It's not like WWII, um, no offence to you, Japan."

"America is right." Kiku said. "Russia will use all the power that he has to fight us and we have no advantages."

"…It must be hard for her…" Feliciano said.

"Who?" Ludwig asked. "Belarus? Ukraine? They love helping their brother. It wouldn't be hard for them-"

"No, I mean Natalina." Feliciano said.

"About this whole chip thing? Yeah, it must be really hard for her." Alfred said.

"No, I mean…well…she lost her mama." Feliciano said.

There was a silence in the air.

"We all lost our mothers, remember?" Arthur said. "We all grew up and our mothers grew older. We knew we would outlive them. We all watched them die too."

"Yeah, but…Natalina lost her mama when she was young. It is one thing when you know that your mother is old and that you'll outlive her…but she lost her mother so early on. The poor thing." Feliciano said.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I hated losing my mother. I was jealous of my classmates when I saw their mothers pick them up at school. Why did my mother have to die? She was great. And wonderful. And I needed her.

"That and her father was an alcoholic." Feliciano added.

There was another silence.

I snuck away and loudly opened and closed a door. Everyone sat up and acted like nothing happened as I walked into the room.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, you'll live with me!" Alfred said. "Do you have anything you need to pack?"

I shook my head. "Everything burned down at the ranch."

Alfred nodded. "I'll see what I can do about clothes when we get to America." He said.

"Sounds good to me." I said. "Is there anything I need to do before I leave?"

Feliciano ran up to me. "Just be safe, _bella_!" He said.

Antonio got up and patted me on the back. "Have a good time, Natalina."

After everyone said goodbye to Alfred and me, Alfred took me out to his car that was in the driveway. At least I didn't have to ride Alfred death motorcycle to the airport.

We got in the car and Alfred smiled at me. "Ready to go home?" He asked.

I nodded. "I'll miss Europe, but I like my home in America."

"Alrighty! Let's go!" Alfred started up the car and we drove down the road.

I leaned my head back against the seat and sighed. Alfred looked at me from the corner of his eye. "Life sucks, huh?"

"Life totally sucks." I said. Alfred chuckled.

"_Define your human word of 'sucks'." _

I jumped a mile. "When the hell did Tony get in the car?" I said after recovering from the shock.

"When we left." Alfred stated. "I can't leave my little buddy behind!"

I turned to the backseat and shot a quick glare at the alien, who just blinked his red eyes and then looked out the window.

I turned back to the road ahead. I felt Alfred's hand pat my head.

"If you're sleepy, you can chill until we get to the airport." Alfred said. "But I'd take off that pretty little gun on your hip before we get to the airport."

I took off the gun and put it under the seat and then let my head fall on the seat rest.

_*****I know, it's a short chapter, but I've got school on the brain. So I'm giving you a little something just to let you guys know I'm still alive. :P*****_


	6. Chapter 6

Alfred grabbed his overnight bag from the luggage carousel and ruffled my hair.

"Are we taking the motorcycle?" I asked.

"You bet!" Alfred said, giving me one of his famous smiles.

I gave a little nod, praying to God I would make it through the trip. It was very early in the morning, so not a lot of cars would be out on the road.

"When we hit the apartment, you can-" Alfred was cut off by the sound of an explosion.

Alfred grabbed my shirt and pulled me to the ground. He covered me with his body, pulling my head until it was against his shoulder. After a tense second, Alfred pulled away and turned to see what happened.

The luggage carousels were all blown to smithereens. Nearby windows exploded into shards of glass and the walls were either gone or cracked and crumbling. Ivan walked over to us, looking at the chaos that he probably created.

Alfred stood up, pulling me up with him. Alfred stood in front of me, shielding me from Ivan. Ivan gave us one of his baby-faced smiles.

"Aw, how sweet. Always standing up for your people, da, America?" Ivan asked.

Alfred didn't say anything. He just slowly pulled out my gun that was hiding in his overnight bag.

"You know we can't be killed, da?" Ivan asked, looking at the gun.

"Yeah, but I sure can do a lot of damage to Moscow." Alfred growled.

For a split-second, I thought I saw concern in Ivan's eyes over Moscow. But Ivan covered it with a smile. "And I can do a lot of damage to Washington D.C."

"Natalina," Alfred said gravely. "Get out of here."

I didn't waste time running away from Ivan. I covered my ears when I heard a gunshot. I ran out of the airport. Since I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle, I had a nearby taxi drive me to Alfred's apartment. When I got to his apartment building, I threw money at the taxi driver, hoping it would be enough for the ride. I ran up the stairs to his apartment. In a hurry, I forgot I didn't have a key for Alfred's door. I leaned against the door and caught my breath, which was starting to hyperventilate.

"You're that girl from six months ago, aren't you?" Someone asked.

I turned and saw a middle-aged woman standing with paper bags from shopping in her arms.

"Yeah." I said. "I am."

The woman smiled. "I'm Alfred's neighbor across the hall. He gave me a spare key in case he lost his. You can use it."

She went into her apartment and grabbed the key. "Return it when Alfred gets his key."

"Thank you." I said quietly.

I opened up the door and went inside. Nothing changed much in Alfred apartment. It was still messy and unorganized. I looked at the alarm clock on Alfred's dresser. My God, it was nearly 4:00 AM. I bit my lip. Alfred was gone almost an entire 45 minutes. I started to panic. What if Alfred was wounded and Ivan was heading this way? I ran through Alfred's house, trying to find something to protect myself with, praying that Alfred was somewhere out there, safe and sound. I found an old baseball bat in Alfred's closet. It would work until I got out of the apartment building and run away from Ivan. I paced the room, not sure if I should call 911. Sure, they would help with the explosion, but someone must have already called about that and they would ask me questions about what happened. I didn't want to call Alfred in case he needed to be quiet for some reason. I didn't want to leave and risk Alfred running after me like a mad-man.

I heard a door open and I held the baseball bat up. "Freeze right there!" I yelled.

"Dear Mother of Maple!" Someone shrieked. I lowered the baseball bat.

"Alfred! You're alright! What did Ivan do to you?" I asked.

"Um, funny thing about Alfred…" The person closed the door behind him. "I'm not Alfred."

I blinked. "Oh. Sorry. You look a lot like Alfred." I guess I should have known that this person was not Alfred by his quiet voice.

"I get that a lot." The man smiled. "My name is Matthew, also the country of Canada."

"Nice to meet you, Matthew." I said. I started to worry. "Do you know about Alfred? He-"

"Got away." Matthew said. "He ran away from Ivan. He's leading a fake trail right now to get Ivan away from you. He called me and told me to take you to my house, where we can regroup."

I nodded but then turned defensive. "Wait, how do I know you're not lying…um…"

"Matthew." He reminded me.

"Right. How do I know you're not lying, Matthew?"

"Because Alfred would kill me!" Matthew said. "He'll join me at my house. If you get hurt in any way, Alfred would murder me in my sleep. Do I look like the kind of person to follow Ivan's orders?"

I put the baseball bat on the couch. "So, where do we go?"

Matthew looked out the door into the hallway. "Everything's clear, so you'll come with me."

…

"Nat! You're alright!" Alfred barged through the door and hugged me from my spot on the couch.

"I should say that to you! What happened?" I asked.

"Just a small tiff with Russia. That's all." Alfred said, smiling.

"You call guns and bombs a small tiff?" I said, my voice shaking with concern.

"Hey, when you live as long as me, babe, these things look like small tiffs." Alfred said, giving me a reassuring smile and a wink.

"Glad to see you're ok, Alfred." Matthew said.

"Yeah, good to see you too, bro." Alfred said.

I looked at the Canadian and the American as they made small talk.

"So you're brothers?" I asked.

"Yes, brothers." They both said.

Matthew put some more logs on the fire in the living room. "So, Alfred, you mind filling me in on this stuff?"

"You know Nat, Canada! The girl that has some kick-ass power to rule the world?" Alfred beamed. He never seemed to lose his smile.

"Oh. Right." Matthew nodded. "Seems things quieted down for a while. What happened?"

"It's complicated, bro." Alfred said. "Long story short, Russia's after Nat again. The countries are helping hide her until we can form a better plan."

"What do you call a 'better plan', America?" Matthew asked in his quiet voice.

"Kick some ass! That's a better plan!" Alfred fist-pumped the air.

"No! Wait!" Both Matthew and I yelled. Last thing we needed was Alfred losing his head over that "I'm a hero" business.

Alfred started to argue with Matthew about why Alfred couldn't save a pretty girl. After some back and forth from the two (more like Alfred running over everything Matthew said), I finally stood up from the couch.

"Enough!" I barked.

Both young men turned to me.

"We haven't even talked to the other countries about this, Alfred! You can't go running off! You've seen Ivan's powers, why are you rushing in like this? He can't be defeated that easily." I said.

"I'll figure it out." Alfred said. I could feel the tension in the air. Matt must have felt it too, as he quietly left the room.

"You can't figure it out along the way! For God's sake, take some time to plan this out!" I said.

"Why?" Alfred yelled.

"_Ivan and my brother put a knife through my heart!"_ I yelled back.

"Which is why I need to attack _now_!" Alfred yelled.

I flinched from Alfred's voice. There was a moment of silence that I never knew could be so loud. The only thing that could be heard was the radio that Matt played earlier. I looked down at the floor, trying to see if the wood flooring would have the answers to all my problems.

I felt Alfred's arms around me and I was pulled into his chest.

"I can't let you get away again." Alfred said. His voice was hoarse. "I can't let you go."

"And I can't stand to see you hurt yourself for my sake." I said into Alfred's chest.

"Hey, this is the Canadian Radio Station, Canada Music Air, bringing you Country Music hour." The radio said. "Let's start off with 'Dancin' Away with My Heart' by Lady Antebellum."

"So what are we going to do? It's not even safe in my own country anymore." Alfred said.

"_I finally asked you to dance on the last slow song_

_Beneath that moon that was really a disco ball"_

"Then both us of need to get out of here." I said. "It's not fair to leave you behind in danger of Ivan and it's not fair to put Matthew in that danger either."

"_I can still feel my head on your shoulder_

_And hoping that the song would never be over" _

"I'll take you to Yao's house. In case Ivan finds you, Yao's got enough land to trek to Europe or to Kiku's place to keep you safe." Alfred said.

"_I haven't seen you in ages_

_Sometimes I find myself_

_Wondering where you are"_

"But we do need to form a better plan, you're right about that." I said.

"So what do _you_ call a better plan?" Alfred asked.

"_For me you'll always be 18"_

"Easy." I said.

"_And beautiful"_

"Let me get the chip back." I said

"_And dancin' away with my heart"_

Alfred froze. He pulled me away from his chest so we locked eyes.

"_I brushed your curls back so I could see your eyes_

_And the way you moved me was like you were reading my mind"_

"You mean…fight your brother?" Alfred asked.

"He tried to kill me. Is he even my brother?" I said.

"_I can still feel you lean into kiss me_

_I can't help but wonder if you ever miss me"_

Alfred looked down. "It just doesn't fit with me…he's your family."

I gasped. Alfred's eyes grew wide at my sudden jump.

"_I haven't seen you in ages_

"What? What?" Alfred asked.

"My father!" I said. The thought of family jogged my memory. "He's alone in rehab!"

"_Sometimes I find myself_

Alfred grabbed his bomber jacket from the hook near the door.

"Let's go." Alfred said, his voice growing grave.

"_Wondering where you are"_

_*****I love working songs into fics! I have nothing else to say except don't throw tomatoes at me…Romano already took care of that when I procrastinated about writing this chapter.*****_


	7. Chapter 7

I ran down the hall, Alfred following me. We were at the alcoholics rehab center in California, where my father was getting treatment for his drinking problems. Alfred risked a lot trying to get me here since we hid in Matthew's house. I was worried that my brother would try and go after my father.

I pulled a nurse to the side. "Where is my father? I-I'm sorry, my name is Natalina Ayres." My voice was shaky. "I'm looking for my dad, he's a patient here."

The nurse nodded and asked me to follow her to the nurses' desk.

"Your father is in room 112." The nurse said after checking the computer.

I bolted for the room. Alfred trailed behind, trying to keep up. I opened up the room.

To find no one there.

I paled. My knees shaking, I ran down the hall again and started looking in the other rooms. Some had group sessions, but my father was not in them. I ran out into the courtyard, looking around the gardens.

"Nattie! What are you doing here?" My father asked.

I whipped around and gave a sigh of relief. "Thank God, Dad! I couldn't find you-" I froze. Maybe I didn't see him because I didn't think he would be hanging around with a woman.

My father saw the look on my face and patted the hand of the woman that was sitting next to him.

"Nat, sweetie, I'd like you to meet Arlene. She's in therapy with me." My father asked.

I looked at the woman again. She had beach blonde hair, puffy lips (because she probably got a lip job) and the same droopy, saggy eyes that my father had because of drinking. Now, I'm not really biased against people. I don't even dislike that dumb-blonde-California-I-have-had-too-many-surgeries-girl. But this was a dumb-blonde-California-I-have-had-too-many-surgeries-and-I'm-an-alchoholic-on-steroids-girl. My first thought was: "What _kind_ of therapy, father?" but all I said was: "Uh..uh-huh…"

"Nat! There you are!" Alfred ran up to me. "Don't ever run off like that! You know Ivan-" Alfred paused when he saw my father. "Oh. Hello, Mr. Ayers. Hello, Ms…Mrs.?...Ms…" Alfred struggled with the woman's name, trying to remember if he'd ever met her before.

The woman stuck out her hand. It was decorated with diamonds and large, chunky rings and bracelets that did not look good on her hand, which looked ten years older than her Botox ridden face. "I'm Arlene."

"I'm Alfred. Alfred F. Jones." Alfred shook her hand, but I know he wasn't looking at her face.

"Nice to meet you, Alfred. Can I call you Al?" Arlene said.

"Uh, sure." Alfred blushed.

My father took his worn hand and put Arlene's hand in it, patting it and smiling at her.

"So, Al, are you Nattie's girlfriend?" Arlene asked.

"That's Natalina." I stated.

"No." Alfred cut in, seeing how tensions were rising (along with my blood pressure). "I'm not. We're just friends."

"Aw, you should date our dear Natalina." Arlene said.

"'Our'?" I asked.

"Really? You think so?" Alfred said, smiling.

"Yes! You would make such a cute couple-"

I snorted.

"-Just like Robbie and me!"

I coughed. It wasn't like a cold cough, or something stuck in my throat cough. It was a heart cough. When I panic or something surprises me, I cough. I guess it's a habit from when I had the chip in my heart and I would cough up blood as the chip made small cuts in my heart. I gasped for air and turned away from everyone standing there.

"Robbie?" I gasped in between coughs. Alfred grabbed my arm to steady me. After I calmed down, I turned to the two people that were sitting in front of us. "'Robbie and me'?"

Arlene smiled. "Yes! We've been dating for a while now-"

"'A while now'? A while now? Dad, when were you going to tell me about this?" I said, hurt firmly in my voice.

"I was going to tell you soon, but-" My father started.

"Soon? How soon? Like, next year?" I started to yell. I turned to Arlene. "His name isn't Robbie, it's Robert. Robert Ayers. My name is not Nattie, it's Natalina. Natalina Ayers. My mother was Vivian Ayers and my brother is Bradley Ayers."

My head took off in a million directions. "Dad, how involved are you in this?"

My father stood up and took my shoulders in his big strong hands, trying to calm me down. "Natalina, it's true. I'm dating Arlene. Here at the facility, they want us to fall in love and be with each other to help us with our addictions and problems-"

"So what's hers? Is she addicted to Botox or something?" I yelled.

"Natalina, don't think that. I'm happy with her-" My father started.

"_You were supposed to be happy with Mom!"_ I yelled. Everyone froze.

I wiped away the tears I didn't even know I was crying.

"Nattie, Mom's gone. Your mom is gone." Dad said softly, trying to calm me down.

I paused. I felt like my father just ripped part of my heart out. I pushed his hands away from me. "Mom was so much more pretty." I growled, hoping that my lame excuse for a reason my father shouldn't date Arlene would suddenly reach out to him. So much so, that he would drop to his knees and cry and yell: "You're right, Natalina, when did I do wrong? I will never betray Vivian's love again, even if she is gone!" but he didn't. He just stood there, his Botox beauty trying to figure out what was going on. Alfred was trying to stay out of the way.

Not being able to stand the silence, I ran away from my father. I tore down the halls and ran out to the parking lot.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed, kicking over a garbage can. I was throwing a twenty-year-old temper tantrum. I ran to Alfred's car and climbed into the passenger seat and started to cry. I guess because of my mom's letters, I always kept her alive in my mind, even after 20 years. I even went to her funeral (I arranged it!) and I still didn't want to accept that my father was dating someone else because my mom was gone. Dead. I just needed to accept the facts that my mother was dead and my father probably see someone else to help with his own pain.

I felt a car door close and someone started stroking my hair.

"I bet your mom was pretty. I know that because I can see a lot of her beauty in you." Alfred said.

I sat up and looked at Alfred, who smiled down at me.

"We both risk our lives to make sure he's ok and there he is with another woman!" I growled. Well, so much for trying to accept the facts.

"It's ok. Don't worry." Alfred said.

"How can I not worry?" I said.

"Because your father can take care of himself. Because he should remember that you have feelings too." Alfred blushed. "Because I'm here to protect you."

I was slightly surprised at his words.

"Everyone's here to protect you." Alfred said. "We're all keeping you safe from Ivan. We came here for what we needed: to make sure your father was ok."

Alfred continued to stroke my hair. "We came for what we needed, Natalina. Now, let's get you to Yao's and have another meeting. I think we need to draw straws again and have a plan B if Ivan finds you at Yao's house."

…

"Girly, who trampled all over you?" Gilbert asked when we came into the room.

Yao's house didn't change that much. Everyone was sitting in a chair or on the floor on huge pillows. Yao sat on a small throne, playing with a little puppy. Feliciano was lying down on a pillow, giving a kitten a treat. Everyone else just talked with each other. The servant who escorted Alfred and me into the room bowed and left. Gilbert's comment to me alerted everyone to our presence in the room.

Everyone stood up and came to shake our hands.

"Gilbert is right. You look like death." Antonio said.

"Maybe you need a pick-me-up?" Francis asked, sliding over to me.

"Everyone get off of her. She needs room to breathe." Ludwig said. Everyone sat back down and Alfred offered me a seat, which I took.

"Are you hurt?" Arthur asked.

I shook my head.

"What happened to you?" Yao asked.

"I-it's nothing. It has nothing to do with you guys." I was quick to say. Last thing I needed was for my friends to worry about my family problems.

"_Bella,_ I know you're lying." Feli said. "I can always tell when someone is lying."

I looked at everyone, catching Alfred making hand-gestures to everyone to try and tell them what happened at the hospital. It wasn't working out so well. The only things I could understand him signing were "Father" and "Big Boobs".

"What happened?" Ludwig said. Everyone's eyes were trained on me.

"It's just some family problems, that's all." I said.

No one made a sound.

"Fine!" I snapped. "My father is seeing another woman! There! End of story! Happy now?" I turned away so I wouldn't have to look anyone in the eye.

There was another pause.

"I'm terribly sorry about that." Arthur said. "How…how can we make it better?"

"There's nothing to do for my father now. It's my fault I'm acting this way. It's something I need to work out myself. I just need some time." I said. "There's nothing you guys can do, but thank you for the offer."

"Wah! Bella has more heart ache! She needs pasta!" Feli whined.

"Feli, I'm fine." I said, trying to make my voice more cheery. Last thing we all needed was for Feli to cry.

"Feliciano, it will be alright." Yao said. "So, we're all gathered here to find out where you will stay if something happens at my place." Yao said.

Feliciano drew the straws out from his pocket. "Let's draw straws again!"

"No!" Lovino barked. He made eye contact with everyone in the room. "If something happens, she'll come to our house." There was a secret look that he gave everyone and they all seemed to understand.

"After that, I say we move her north. It's obvious that Ivan and her brother will not give up chasing after her." Lovino said. "So after our house, we move her to Francis. Not that he'll really protect her-"

"Hey!" Francis snapped.

"-but it gives us time to move her somewhere else. I say to Antonio's house and then to Arthur's house. Her brother will then expect us to move her to Alfred's place again, but we'll send her to Kiku's place." Lovino said.

"And then what, run around the world until they give up?" Arthur said.

"He'll wait for us to fall into a pattern." I said.

Everyone stopped and looked at me.

"Everything has a pattern. It just takes some time for it to form." I said. "He'll chase us until we form that pattern out of pure exhaustion and lack of hope for running away. Then he'll cut us off at one of the places."

"So you really know your brother's strategies?" Kiku said.

I smiled. "I do. My brother wrote a comic book and I think the hero in the story was based off of my brother. The hero's weaknesses are also my brother's."

"So what are his weaknesses?" Ludwig asked.

I thought for a second and then turned to Alfred, the only other person who knew what I was thinking at the moment.

"He doesn't think the victim will take the offensive." I said. "He thinks victims will always be chased after. So-"

"No!" Everyone but Alfred yelled.

"It's insane!" Arthur yelled.

"Never!" Ludwig yelled.

"Bella! No!" Feli yelled.

"You can't!" Antonio said.

"I wouldn't do that, girly!" Gilbert warned.

"It is impossible!" Francis said.

"Did you crack your head?" Lovino asked.

"Please, don't risk your life!" Kiku said.

"We don't want you getting hurt!" Yao yelled.

"But he won't see it coming!" I yelled back. "I know my brother!"

"I won't allow it!" Arthur said. "We can't have you risk your life!"

"Please, just let me!" I yelled. "I can handle myself! I'll go and get the chip quickly and when-"

"Never! You're too weak!" Lovino said.

I stopped. "Did you just call me weak?" I asked in a threatening voice.

"You've never seen the things that we have seen." Lovino said. "And we can see those things in your brother. You are not ready to handle those-"

"I had a knife plunged into my heart!" I yelled. "I had two broken ribs, three broken fingers, ten major cuts, twenty smaller cuts when I dodged a knife and one twisted ankle! You call me weak?"

"I've seen people get killed! We all have!" Lovino said.

"But I know my brother!" I yelled. "I'll still run! I'll still go with your plan, Lovino. I _do_ need more time to think about this." I calmed down a little bit. "But if we just keep running, that's all we'll do. Run away. We need to fight back at some point. Please."

Everyone looked away from me, as if they didn't want me to know what they wanted the answer to be.

"Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?" I asked. "Because I will. Because I know I'm right."

Gilbert chuckled.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You remind me of a lot of generals I used to know." Gilbert said. "Even when the battle plan seemed insane, they always knew when they were going to win." Gilbert threw his hands up in defeat. "Looks like we have no choice, guys. The general made up her mind. There's no going back now." His blood-red eyes locked with mine. "Just let us be your defense. You still need to complete the plan."

"I'll only go through with it if I have everyone's support." I said.

There was a pause.

"You have my support. Mine and the Chinese Army." Yao said.

"You have mine and the American Military." Alfred said.

"Gilbert and mine as well." Ludwig said.

"You have the Italian Army's support." Lovino said.

"Si!" Feli cheered.

"You have the Spanish Military's support." Antonio said.

"And mine, too." Francis said.

"You have my support." Kiku said.

"…World War 3…" Arthur mumbled. "But you have my support. And the British Army."

"So general, now you have your troops." Gilbert said. "So what's your next order?"

"Well, I think we all need to split up. I do like Lovino's idea of running to Italy's house next."

"So we wait for you to finish your plan, but we follow mine in the meantime." Lovino said.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Well, no wasting time, then!" Alfred said. "I have to see if Ivan found my apartment."

"Yes, we all must be going." Arthur said. "I say we cease wire communications unless something goes wrong and you need to reach us."

Yao nodded. "And I will keep her safe."

Slowly, the room emptied, except for Arthur, who turned and walked back to me. Getting close to my ear so no one heard him, Arthur growled: "I hope you know what you started."

I looked him I the eye. "I do. And I want to do this."

Arthur sighed, as if he already knew he couldn't change his mind. "Fine. Just be safe, Natalina."

Arthur kissed my hand and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Yao and me alone.

Yao broke the awkward silence. "Natalina, have you ever had Peking duck?"

_*****DONE! Well, sorry this took so long, but a few pretty exciting things happened in my life lately. Lots of excitement in the next chapter, which I'm already starting to write.**_

_***SuperAwesomeDia taps me on shoulder* "Ahem". **_

_**Me: "Oh, yes! I forget to tell you guys: SuperAwesomeDia, my wonderful sister, needs more love on her fics! She's got a sequel for "I Hate This Stupid Love!" and she needs more reviews! Lots of reviews! As a matter of fact, send in 10 reviews for each chapter! Lots of reviews! Lots-" **_

_***SuperAwesomeDia whispered in ear* **_

_**Me: "Oh. Too far. Right. Well, anyways, more love to SuperAwesomeDia, please! Thank you!"**_


	8. Chapter 8

_*****Me: "Yay! Summer vacation! I can't wait! Lots of sun, being outside, lots of writing for my fans-" **_

_**Mom: "Can you help me with organizing files?" **_

_**Me: "Ok! Sure! I'm off of school!" **_

_**Two weeks later: **_

_**Me: "Must…write…something…" (has terrible writer's block) **_

_**One week later: **_

_**Me: "I GOT A CHAPTER UP! YES!" **_

_**Natalina: "It's about time!" **_

…

_**Yeah, I got off of school. With writer's block and big chores. I could have put in a filler chapter (because my block was with the main storyline for this fanfic) but I do not believe in them. I've read fanfics where the authors don't update for a month and then just hand out a filler. I'd rather have a bit of writer's block and then give you guys the real story instead of saying: "So, Nattie's running from her brother- but WAIT! She falls sick and spends three months at Yao's house and her brother seems to forget her and not go after her!" That's not fair to the people following the story. It works for other authors but I don't like giving fans the short end of the story stick. I hope you guys can understand! **_

_**In other news: Did I ever tell you guys I'm a filmmaker? I am! I just uploaded a Hetalia short film to YouTube called "Fangirl, Interrupted". Here's the link: **_

_** watch?v=efTKuO3xsVE **_

_**A filmmaker's pride is in the feedback of the viewers. I'd love it if you guys would comment on the video! I love to entertain people, which is why I want to be a filmmaker!**_

_**Also, my sister, SuperAwesomeDia, has done some pretty fan art for Tell Me This is a Dream! It's a very cute LudwigXNatalina picture. We've gotten into a bit of a "Tribute War" (I mentioned her in my other fic, so she draws me a picture, etc.) Please go take a look and comment on it! It's very cute. :) Link: ?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=natalina+ludwig#/d4zd219**_

_**I do not own Hetalia. The plane trip to Japan to beg Hima-papa is too much for my summer job paycheck.*****_

The next morning at Yao's house, I woke up from the sound of children laughing. Trying to locate the noise, I looked out of my window to look down on the garden. This was the same garden that my brother wrote a message in blood on but Yao's servants did a good job of cleaning it up. Out in the courtyard, Yao was playing with some children. They all had their hands on each other's shoulders, forming a line. I didn't understand the rules of whatever game they were playing but it seemed that the child in the front of the line was trying to tag the child in the back of the line. Yao was in the middle of the line, smiling and laughing as much as the other children. I got dressed and met Yao outside.

"Natalina! Do you want to join us?" Yao asked.

"What are you playing?" I asked, approaching the group.

"We are playing Catch the Dragon's Tail!" Yao said. "We all stand in a line like this. The person in the front is the dragon's head. The person in the back is the dragon's tail. The head tries to catch the dragon's tail and if they do, the tail becomes the head and we all move a position down. The middle tries to prevent the head from catching the tail."

I joined in the middle of the line. The line ran around the courtyard, the children yelling in Chinese. I couldn't help but laugh as we ran around. I felt like such a child. One kid yelled out in Chinese and the rest stopped the game and yelled and cheered as well.

"What do they want?" I asked.

"They want to play a different game." Yao said. "Here, let's play this one." He talked to the children in Chinese and they all agreed (at least, I think so).

"Now, link arms with me." Yao said. "Stand back-to-back." I linked my arms with his.

"Now I'm going to sit down and you're going to follow slowly until we're both on the ground." Yao said. I followed Yao and we both sat on the ground, our arms still linked. The children did the same with each other.

"Now the game is to try and stand up." Yao said. "You can't unlink arms. The first team to stand up wins."

"This will be easy!" I said.

It wasn't.

Yao and I struggled up, while the kids laughed at the American's attempts.

"Don't stand up like that!" Yao said. "Try slowly. Bow out with me until our backs are touching. Then we both slowly move our feet towards each other-"

One team yelled out and everyone else groaned. I turned to see the first team to stand up cheering.

"We can still win second!" Yao said. I followed his orders and we were able to stand up. We didn't come in second, but it was a close third place!

Someone called to the children and Yao let them go.

"I forgot how much fun children's games are." I said.

"Well, when you get to be my age, you start finding joy in the simple things in life, like kids' games." Yao said. He put his hands in his long sleeves, hinting at the "old ways" that he still remembered.

"…What's it like?" I asked. "To be the country of China?"

Yao sighed. "It's hard. I mean, every country representative like me has the problems of the people. When your country is hurt, like in war, you are hurt. The downside of that is that you also affect your country. While people tell you not to mess up or your country will get hurt, they say it with fear in their voices. Then they go off and start wars. It's hard but I guess we get used to it. We were raised like this from birth."

"I thought I had life bad…" I said. "I feel sorry for you. I can't imagine the pain you must go through."

Yao shrugged. "Tonight we are having some dancers. I hope you'll make it to dinner."

"I'd love to attend." I said. "Do I need to dress for the occasion?"

"People will attend to you later today." Yao said. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Natalina, I need to do some paperwork."

…

"Ow!" I said through gritted teeth. "Ow!"

The woman brushing my hair scolded me in Chinese. After she was done brushing my hair, she started to put some big curlers in and of course, burned my scalp. I bit my lip and tried to keep quiet. Three women were attending to me for the big dinner. One was doing my hair, one was putting makeup on and one was doing my nails.

Another woman walked into the room and hung up a dress. It was white and blue. Instead of the small Chinese mini dress, this one had long sleeves and a long skirt. The bottom of the dress was mostly solid silks, while the sleeves and shoulders were made of see through silk in a light blue color. The bodice was a mix of the see through and the solid silks. The women chatted in Chinese while they worked on me. Once my hair was done, one of the women put a flower pin in my hair. They gave me a mirror to look at my hair. It was in a bun, with curled strands hanging down near my face. The flower pin was put off to the side of the bun. My makeup was very well done. It made my face look like a porcelain doll, with black eyelashes, red lips and smooth makeup that matched my skin color. I smiled and nodded at the women, since they didn't speak English. They helped me put the dress on and led me to the hall where we would be eating.

The entertainers were not there yet. Everyone was just getting ready to eat. Yao stood up as I entered and let me sit next to him. It took a few minutes but then dancers in beautiful traditional dress walked onto an open space on the floor in front of us. They all had silver swords that they danced with, every dancer in perfect sync.

A servant handed me a glass of what looked like wine. He also handed one to Yao. I held up the glass in the sunlight to try and identify the liquid. Yao already took a sip of his. As I held it up, I noticed some dust on the rim of the glass. As I wiped it away, I saw the dust was not grey, like when you wipe away dust from a shelf but pure white, like snow.

"Yao, don't drink that!" I gasped. Yao's eyes went wide.

"Why?" He asked.

"It's been poisoned!" I said.

Yao spat out what was in his mouth. He barked at the servant, who bowed to Yao and muttered something. Yao stood up. I followed.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"I asked him if anyone else was served this drink. He said it was only served to us for a special reason." Yao said.

The servant took a lung full of air and bellowed something out in Chinese, making everyone jump, even the dancers. The music and dancers kept performing, trying to keep calm.

Yao narrowed his eyes at the man. Yao's body tensed.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"Long live the Unknown King of China and the Fallen Queen of the World." Yao said. Yao called the nearby palace guards and pointed at the man, ordering the arrest of the servant. The servant pulled out a knife and weakly tried to defend himself, only to be thrown to the ground. Yao stood in front of me, trying to protect me from this sudden madman.

They we heard a scream. We all turned to see the dancers stopping their dance and backing away from a fallen dancer. Blood pooled around her. I ran over to her with Yao.

"She's been stabbed in the back!" I said. Yao called for medics. I looked up to see a flash of grey among the colorful clothes of the dancers and guests. As Yao ordered everyone around, I took the sword of the dead dancer and slowly followed after the grey flash. I just caught it running out of the room, so I followed.

I ran down the halls of Yao's huge house. I ran outside when I saw a grey pant leg run out a door.

"I told him to give you a message, I didn't expect him to be so poetic."

I jumped at the voice. I turned to see my brother sitting on a garden bench. He was wearing a grey suit that was splattered with blood.

"Long live the Fallen Queen of the World. I like that." Brad said. "It has a nice ring to it. You should tell your friends. Maybe 'Fallen Queen of the World' will replace 'Rebel'."

"Who is that man?" I asked. "Who was that servant?"

"Oh, he already held a grudge against your friend. He was on his way out of working for Yao, so I thought he'd drop off some drinks for the two of you before he left for good." My brother smiled.

I looked around. "Where's Ivan?"

"He's inside, entertaining some of the guests." Brad said. "It's only me here."

I backed away. "I can't trust you." I said.

"You don't have to. You just have to come with me." Brad said. "The chances of me sparing your life are slim-to-none but I might spare the torture of your friends if you just follow me and then tell me this little password. It's getting in the way of trying to rule the world."

I gasped. "No! Why would you torture-"

"To let them know where I stand in this whole matter. I _am _going to rule the world. I need to let these countries know that I'm capable of much more than just killing a few normal people. Fear of pain ensures loyalty." Brad said. He nodded at the dancer's sword in my hand. "I like that. It's pretty."

"You are sick." I stated. "Brad, you're sick. In the head."

He smiled again. "I know."

"How can you live like that?" I asked. I felt a pang of sadness. This was my own brother. I still cared for him.

"I don't know."

"Do you think you can change?"

"No."

I shook my head. "Brad, this family wants you back. I went to mother's wake. Everyone wanted to know where you were." I looked down. "Dad's dating again."

"He's what?" Brad gasped.

"He's dating. Someone from his rehab center." I said.

Brad blinked. "Rehab?"

I looked up. "Yes. Rehab for alcoholics. You didn't know?"

Brad slowly shook his head. "N-No. I know he drinks. I didn't know it was that bad…"

"It was really bad." I said softly.

There was an awkward moment. I felt like a briefly got my brother back. It probably would have stayed that way but Yao ran out into the courtyard, a sword in his hand. He was gasping for air.

"N…Natalina…" Yao said. He swayed to the side a little.

"Yao? Are you alright?" I asked. I helped to steady the Chinese man. Yao groaned.

"D…drugs…" Yao said.

Brad frowned. "Did he drink that wine?" He asked.

"He took one sip." I said.

Brad gave a soft laugh. "He should be dead by now. Or, as a country, passed out."

I turned to face Brad. "You tried to kill us?"

"_His_ would make him pass out. I just slipped a Mickey Finn in yours. I needed something a little stronger for your powerful friend."

Yao groaned again. I growled at my brother and slowly put Yao on the ground. I felt the sword in my hand. I promised everyone I would fight back. Now I would.

I lifted the sword and ran at Brad. I barely saw him draw the gun from his back holster. Yao saw him reach for it and grabbed my leg, pulling me down as Brad fired above my head. I turned to look at Yao. He shook his head.

"Not yet." Yao said. He slowly stood up, making Brad pause in his firing.

"I thought you passed out." Brad said.

"I lived through the _Opium _Wars. Do you really think a small crushed pill will make a _country _pass out?" Yao said, poison was dripping from his words as much as it was seeping into his blood.

Brad raised the gun again. I swear I saw fear in Brad's eyes. I held out the dancer's sword. Yao put his hand out.

"_Not yet._" He repeated. He drew his own sword. He slowly and shakily approached Bradley.

Out of fear, Brad fired a shot. Yao pulled his sword in front of his face and deflected the bullet. The stray bullet crashed into a flowerpot. Yao gave a wild cry before running (or more like stumbling) at Brad. Brad fired another shot. It grazed Yao's cheek but that's not what surprised both Brad and me.

It was the fact that the ground in front of us opened up. Yao jumped to one side. I jumped to the same side. Brad tripped and fell into the open ground. The crevice was only about six feet deep but it caught Brad off guard. He fell to the new six-foot floor. I grabbed Yao, who fell to the ground. He was panting heavily.

I struggled to make Yao stand up.

"Yao!" I yelled. "Stand!"

Yao moaned and clutched at my dress.

"Yao! Focus!" I yelled, lightly patting his cheek to get his fading attention. I saw Bradley scrambling to get out of the hole.

"Fine!" I said. I struggled to carry Yao in some way. I ended up putting him on my back. It was just enough to get him inside. I looked at the guards that were running in our direction, done with the arrest of the rogue servant.

"Help!" I yelled.

"I'm fine." Yao said. "It just needs time to get out of my system-"

"He needs help." I said. The guards didn't understand what I was saying.

"Natalina, I'm fine." Yao said. "You…need to get out of…here-"

"I'm not leaving without you." I barked. "You're hurt more than I am."

"Then…let's…get…away…" Yao started to fade, the drug taking affect.

I looked at the guards again, who were trying to take Yao away. "No!" I yelled, holding onto Yao's hand. I tried to grab him to carry him again but I ended up making the both of us fall. I thought for a moment. "Kiku! Honda Kiku! Take us to his house!" I said.

The guards stared at me. I thought some more.

"Japan?" I ventured. They understood at least that much English.

"Japan's house?" I asked. They nodded and took Yao out of my arms. One strong guard carried Yao to an Army van. I jumped in the back of the van with Yao and the doors were closed. Yao was laid out on the floor. There was yelling and then the van bolted forward, speeding away.

I sighed and took a seat on the benches that were on either side of the van. The peace didn't last long. A lead pipe pierced the side of the van, taking a little bit of my shoulder skin with it. I yelled mostly in surprised and ducked down to join Yao on the floor. The van swayed side to side. After a tense moment, I looked about the van. Neither Ivan nor my brother was in sight. I stayed with the passed out Yao on the floor for the rest of the trip.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up to the sound of someone gagging. I opened my eyes, feeling tired and weak. Kiku stood at the open back of the van. I was laying on my side, against Yao. The blood from my shoulder wound drapped over me like a red cloak. I tried to stand up but I fell down again. Probably from all the blood loss. Yao's cheek was also bleeding heavily but that was just from the fact that it was on his face and more blood is stored in the face. Our blood had congealed during the trip, sticking to Yao's face and my clothes.

Kiku was clutching his mouth, trying not to gag at the sight. I gave a soft whimper and tried to feel my head. I felt like I was moving through jelly.

"_K-Kuso…_" Kiku softly said. He helped me out of the van. Yao's guards pulled Yao out of the van and carried him inside Kiku's house.

Kiku beckoned to the guest bedroom to put Yao since there was a language barrier between the Chinese guards and the Japanese man. I tried to follow Kiku but I felt like my legs snapped and I couldn't stand up. I fell to the floor. Kiku helped me up again. He laid me out on his couch. My vision started to go hazy but a sudden shot of adreneline went through my body as I felt something in my shoulder wound that make it sting. I yelled in pain and tried to sit up but someone pushed me down. Black was filling my vision, making random black splotches that kept growing. Then they filled up my entire line of sight. I moaned quietly before passing out.

…

I opened my eyes to bright light and people talking in Japanese. I struggled to sit up. I was still on Kiku's couch. I turned to see Kiku and what appeared to be a nurse talking in the doorway. The nurse bowed to Kiku and he did the same to her. She left the house and Kiku saw me move out of the corner of his eye. He walked over to me.

"How are you feeling, Natalina-san?" Kiku asked.

"Fine." I said. I looked around the couch. I was hooked up to an IV that stood nearby. Blood dripped from the plastic bag and replenished my low supply of blood to my body.

Kiku helped me sit up. I felt a little dizzy but not as bad. I was wearing the Chinese dress from the other night. The sleeve where my shoulder was hurt was ripped off, exposing my shoulder, arm and a little bit of my chest. It wasn't enough skin to be called "improper" by Kiku but it let the nurse and him fix my shoulder.

Kiku lifted the bandage from my shoulder. "I'll change that."

He fixed up my shoulder with clean bandages. I felt even more lightheaded. "Hm, Kiku… I don't feel so good…"

He handed me some sort of drink. "Drink that. All of it."

I downed the glass. "What is that?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the taste.

"Something the nurse gave me." Kiku said. He reached for another bottle and poured it into a small cup. "And drink this."

"What is it?" I asked again.

"Sake. The pain medication will wear away soon."

I didn't need to be asked twice before drinking the alcohol.

"Where's Yao?" I asked.

"He's in the guest bedroom." Kiku said.

"How is he?"

"Well, health wise, he's fine." Kiku said. "Mentally…not so well…"

"What wrong with him?" I asked with panic in my voice.

"Aiya…it's the Opium Wars all over again…I don't like that drink from last night…" Someone moaned. Yao stumbled into the room.

"Yao!" Kiku scolded. "You should be in bed!"

Yao giggled and stumbled over to me. "Your boobie is nearly showing…"

"Boo..bie…?" I asked. I looked at my shirt that was torn. The dress still covered me.

"I…wanna…see…" Yao slurred. He slumped over onto the couch.

Ah. That's what Kiku meant about Yao. I gently pulled the Chinese man off of me.

"No, Yao. Down." I said.

Kiku blushed and pulled Yao off. "Go back to your room, Yao."

Yao gave a soft moan and slugged off to his room.

Kiku continued to wrap my arm up. I noticed he had his katana attached to his side.

"What's that for?" I asked.

He just looked at me.

"Oh. Right. I'm here." I said quietly.

"We can't have another attack." Kiku said.

"What's going to happen next?" I asked.

Kiku looked me in the eye. "You're going to run. Tomorrow Arthur, Feliciano, Antonio and Francis with come here and talk about your plan–"

"Let me fight back!" I said. "I've done it before with him, I can do it again! Just get me to a safe spot and we can figure out how to attack–"

"And see you in the state of what happened last time?" Kiku said.

There was a silence in the air.

"None of us wanted to see that. We searched all over for you after your brother abducted you. We didn't want to find you nearly dead on the ground. We…We failed you." Kiku said.

"It was my fault. I let it happen." I said.

"He mislead us all. It wasn't anything you did."

"And he'll keep doing it!" I said. "Please, Kiku. Let me stand up on my own."

Kiku bit his lip. "From our standpoint, you don't really have legs to stand on."

"So help me. But don't take them from me." I said. "My brother has to go."

Kiku's head snapped up. "You mean–"

"He'll have to go." I said.

"You're insane."

"It's the last thing he'll expect."

"He's your family."

"Not anymore." I bitterly said. "My father and mother would never want anything like this to happen. I just…I don't know when it happened. I don't know when my family failed him so much, he snapped and went insane. He's not…" I sighed. "He's not family anymore."

"Haaaaarrrssshhh!" Yao slurred from the other room.

…

By the end of the day, my arm got better and didn't hurt so much. I didn't even need an IV. Yao was able to form a sentence without slurring or making rude comments. That evening, Kiku slept in front of his front door so no one could get in without passing him. I slept on the couch.

In the middle of the night, I heard a sound. It was like the shuffle of feet. I opened one eye to see Kiku's kitchen light on. I slowly got up and crept to the kitchen door.

"She can't take care of herself!" Someone whispered in a harsh voice.

"But she fought her brother the first night she was nearly captured! That's got to count for something!"

"But then she was beaten. Just for fun, too! He could have just taken the chip but he didn't!"

"So what are we supposed to do? Just run around like chickens with their heads cut off? Hell no!"

"Lovi, watch your tongue."

"How about you shove yours down your throat?"

"All of you be quiet!"

"Yeah. What's important is that she can't handle it any more. The pressure of her brother trying to kill her is too much."

I bit my lip. I guess the others got here early and were talking with Kiku. Did…did they really think that about me? I guess it was true. I wasn't meant for fighting. I slowly backed away from the door. I found my way to Kiku's porch and sat on the railing. I looked up.

The stars were so bright. It must have been because Kiku lived in the country.

"Hi Mom." I whispered. I felt so stupid. I was 20, for God's sake! I was not a child. I was acting like one, though. My mom had been dead since I was 8. I needed to grow up and move on like my father. I shouldn't talk to random stars as if they would contact my mother. I couldn't be tied down like this.

I thought about my mother and I started to panic. Why couldn't I remember how she smelled with her favorite perfume on? What…what color was her hair? Oh, it was dark. Yes! It was dark hair. But was it black, brown, dark red? A mix of all three? A mix of two or more? Her eyes…what color were her eyes? Bradley has her eyes. Green! That's it! It must be green. Or was it blue-green hazel?

I felt a tear reach my cheek. I softly swore. Why couldn't I remember the most important person in my life? …Was she even the most important person now? I mentally scolded myself for my thoughts.

"God Mom, why? Why me? I can't fight to save my soul. I can't even fight to save someone else's. Why did you choose me?" I growled at the stars.

I felt something on my hand. I looked at a little butterfly that had landed on my first finger. It was white and brown. I held it up to my face. It was so pretty. Butterflies were my mother's favorite animal-

"Oh. Haha Mom." I couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe this was her way of telling me I would be ok. "I get it, Mom."

The butterfly took off. I watched it fly off into the moon. Maybe that was a moth, since butterflies usually don't appear at night.

"Why me?" I whispered.

I heard a crash from inside and I jumped. Someone yelled. I ran inside. Lovino, Feli, Arthur, Francis, Antonio, Ludwig and Kiku were all standing there. There was a smashed teacup on the floor and everyone was turned to face another entrance from the kitchen. Ivan held a gun in his hands and he smiled.

"This game is getting tiring, da?" He asked.

Everyone ducked for cover and the kitchen turned into hell. I quickly ran from the mess and ran to Yao's room. He was still passed out from the medicine. I grabbed Yao's dancer sword and stayed in front of the door to Yao's room. I didn't want him unprotected with Ivan inside the house.

The air tensed. I could hear a few gunshots but then it grew quiet. I heard footsteps come to the door. It slowly opened and I raised the sword.

"Ah! Don't kill me!" Feli wailed.

I lowered the sword. "Feli?"

Feli slinked into the room. "Germany told me to run. I did!"

I nodded. "Just stay here, Feli."

There were more footsteps. I lowered the sword. It was probably Arthur or someone.

Two gunshots entered the door and lodged into the wall behind Yao's head. Feli screamed and I was too scared to make a sound. I raised the sword as Ivan entered the room. He raised the gun.

I remembered how Yao deflected the bullet from my brother. I turned the sword and closed my eyes, knowing I would make it or fail. There was a gunshot and a clanging sound. The bullet went into the door behind Ivan.

I didn't even have time to register what I did. I just swung the sword. I closed my eyes as it hit something. I opened my eyes to see Ivan puling the sword out from his side. He actually looked mad. Trust me, it's a sight you don't want to see. I swung again and he caught it in his hand.

"Feli! Get Yao and go!" I yelled.

Feli grabbed Yao and pulled him off the bed and out the door as I held back Ivan.

"I should have tried to kill you the moment I saw you in the park!" I yelled.

Ivan took out a lead pipe and blocked the sword with it. He smiled. "Do you know this?"

I paused to look at it. There was a chip missing in the pipe. I froze.

"Mom." I whispered. I remembered the lead shard in her lock of hair from the crime scene.

"I will enjoy killing her daughter with this weapon." Ivan said.

I swung the sword again and hit Ivan's leg with it. I raised it again, yelling as I did so but something grabbed the sword hilt.

I turned to see my brother standing there.

"We still need her alive." Bradley said. "Sorry."

I tore the sword from his hand and ran out of the room. Ludwig and Arthur were in the living room, weapons in hand to try and find Ivan. I stood in front of them.

"Natalina? What the bloody hell is going on?" Arthur asked.

I raised the sword. _Spread your legs out. Move your hips. Turn the sword at an angle to block._ Kiku's lessons when I first met him and he let me practice with him came back to me.

"Natalina, get out of here!" Ludwig said.

Ivan raised his lead pipe.

"Natalina, are you deaf?" Arthur yelled. "Get out!" He put a hand on my shoulder but I pushed it off.

"No!" I yelled.

Brad scowled. "What are you waiting for, Ivan? Get her!"

"There are three." Ivan said.

"Fine!" Brad said. "Just attack my sis-"

I didn't let him finish. I was sick of his monologues. I raised the sword above my head and ran for him. I flew past Ivan, startling him, as he thought I was going for him. Brad grabbed the sword with his bare hands, making them bleed. But that's not what made both him and me scream.

The sword tip went through his eye. I gasped and dropped the sword when I saw what I did. I backed up into Ludwig, who hid me behind his back.

"What did you do?" Bradley screamed.

"I didn't- I didn't mean-I" I gasped for air. I felt like I would pass out. I felt my face. I had Brad's blood on me. "No! I didn't-"

"You took my eye!" He yelled.

"No! I-I-" I started to panic. Ivan and Arthur stood there, shocked at what happened. Ludwig held me back from running anywhere.

"Ivan! Kill her!" Bradley yelled.

Everything went by so fast. Arthur grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.

"Get Natalina somewhere safe!" Arthur yelled.

Lovino grabbed my arm from Arthur. "Right. Let's go."

"No! Brad!" I screamed.

Lovino hoisted me over his shoulder. "I said let's go!"

"Brad!" I cried. "I-I- didn't! I- I'm sorry! Brad!"

I heard a gunshot and a yell before Lovino pushed me into a rental car. Feli was in the passenger seat but he crawled back to me when I tried to open the door. He held me back as Lovino pulled away.

"Brad!" I screamed. "No!"

Feli pulled me to his chest. "Bella, it's ok!"

"No!" I broke down into hysterical crying. "Brad! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! No!"

I threw myself at the car window. "Brad! My brother! I'm sorry!"

I saw a butterfly land on the window on the outside.

"This is all your fault!" I snapped at the butterfly. "Just go away!"

"Who are you talking to?" Feli asked.

"Just go away!" I screamed at the world. I pounded the window with a fist. The butterfly flew away and Feli backed away.

"Just go!" I cried.

Feli pulled me to him again. I wailed into his chest.

"Please…" I whimpered. "Go away…"

_*****Warning: Dark Green Day and Three Days Grace songs make fanfictions more epic than they appear. **_

_**Done! Finally! I hope you guys enjoy! It's 1:30 AM now…I need some rest now… **_

_**Lots of really awesome things going on in my life right now! I've been really busy but I haven't forgotten you guys! I hope to add a chapter to my other story, In Your Shoes, next. I wish you all luck on your own fanfictions and I'll see you soon in mine!*** **_


	10. Chapter 10

_*****Hello again! So, what do you guys think about that cover art? I drew it myself with the power of GIMP! I had a bigger version planned but the FanFiction rules prevented me from using them. If you go to DeviantArt, my account is HorseandWolfLover93. You can find the full pictures there! I know, I know, I told you guys that Natalina could look like whatever you wanted her to look like but I asked some fans what she looked like to them and most of them said long hair, so that's how the cover art Natalina came to be. You can still imagine her with short hair if you please. **_

_**CONTEST TIME! I've seen these on other stories and they look like so much fun! So, have you guys heard of the "fangames" for Hetalia (I have no clue if there's an official name for those things)? They are movies that look like video games, usually in the style of **_**Pokemon**_** or**___**Ib**_** and are popular on NicoNicoDouga and YouTube. If you've seen them before, you'll know what I'm talking about. In this chapter, Italy will mention one of those games (it's a popular one). The first person to correctly answer through a review or a PM will get either their choice of: 1: what character Natalina visits next (she will probably go to all of their houses at some point or another, it's just the order that they happen in) OR 2: A character that will be added to the story (reminder: No yuri or yaoi – just have to point that out). So pay attention to what Italy says! **_

_**Now, for one more update: I forgot if I told you guys that I'm moving. I'll probably be really busy and won't have time to update frequently. I'll try my best to update and write. *****_

I woke up in a strange room. It was big and had a fireplace in one corner. The fireplace and the floor were both cream marble. The floor was covered by a red rug. The sheets on the bed were red and gold and they matched the wallpaper. There was one big picture window with a small bench near the fireplace and a tall door on the opposite wall. In front of the door, Lovino was laying on the floor on top of a blanket. His back was turned to me but it seemed that he was holding something. Near the large window, Feli slept on the bench.

Feli looked like a little baby sleeping but he didn't look like a child anymore as soon as I saw the small pistol he was cuddling with. I sat up. I was still in the festival clothes from Yao's place. The shoulder bandages had been changed. Feli heard me wake up and he sat up and rubbed his eyes, putting the gun on the bench next to him.

"Fratello, she's up." Feliciano yawned.

Lovino gave a huff and turned to face us.

"What's that?" I asked Lovino, my eyes going wide at the object he held in his hands.

"A Tommy gun. Haven't you ever heard of one of those?" Lovino gruffed, not liking the morning hours.

"What's it doing with you?" I asked.

"Damn, you're slow, girl." Lovino said.

"Fratello! Be nice!" Feliciano scolded.

"Well, doesn't she see the connection with_ her_ being _here_ and _me_ holding a_ gun_ and _blocking_ the _door_?" Lovino asked.

"Ok, I get it." I snapped. "Please, we don't want to get pissy in the middle of all this."

"She's right." Feli nodded. "Let's go downstairs and talk about this over breakfast. Does pasta sound good?"

…

Lovino finished off his pasta first and started talking about what would happen next. "There is no place that is safe for you. The scone bastard-"

"Arthur. Or England." Feliciano corrected.

"Right. He's got some of his spies looking for Russia's-"

"Ivan's." Feli said.

"Hideout. We might be able to capture them and stop them. First, though, they'd come looking for you. Your brother and R- sorry, Ivan would then come back and regroup."

"Doesn't that seem a little lengthy? The cost to go back and forth from Russia to wherever I am-"

"Hellloooo!" Lovino said in a mock school-girl tone. "Don't you remember the whole creeping up on other countries deal? Ivan has territory in almost all of Eastern Europe right now! It's not that costly because they can travel for free. If your brother can see a pattern in the way you run away, then it would be worth the trip back to Russia to see where you would run next to and beat you there. It's worked so far for him."

I choked on my pasta as Lovino talked about my brother. Feli and Lovino fell quiet as I coughed. I waved away Feli as he tried to help. I managed to get the pasta down and I gripped the table trying to stay calm. It all flooded back to me. The thoughts and memories of last night when I hurt my brother like I've never hurt him before all came back to me.

"Bella, are you ok?" Feliciano asked.

"I'm fine." I whispered. No, I felt terrible and I swear my skin had a chill to it. I was anything but fine!

Lovino scowled to break the silence. "Anyway, we think they might be here in Italy. Where, we don't know. We're not going to spend much time thinking about it. We're going to pass you like a hot potato to tomato bastard-"

"Antonio." Feli corrected.

"Whatever! We're going to give you to him and then he's going to pass you to Francis. Depending on how things go, you might hang around his place or go to Arthur's house."

"Fine with me." I said. "I don't want you guys to suffer from all of this. Have you guys talked to Antonio?"

"I talked to him and he talked to Francis." Lovino said.

"So when do we meet him?" I asked.

"First, you'll need a makeover." Lovino said.

"Wait. Makeover?" I asked. Fear crept into my mind.

"Then, we'll be taking you to a busy club to meet with Antonio."

"What about the makeover?" I asked again.

"The club serves as a nice passing point because it's really busy and if your brother is there, he might not be able to see you."

"Wait! What about that makeover?" I asked.

"Whoa, chill." Lovino said. "It's a little adjusting to your physical appearance."

"What kind?" I asked.

"Just some new clothes, maybe some padding on the hips of a dress…" He wiped his mouth with his napkin to try and hide his next words. "A little hair dye."

"A little hair dye? Permanente?" I asked.

"For a few days…" Lovino said. "Sound good? It will help you hide from your brother."

I sighed. "If you really think it would help…"

…

If by help, I meant that I would allow them to get rid of all of my hair by sheer scrubbing. I was bent over the brothers' bathroom sink in one of their spacious bathrooms that included a luxury bathtub and large sinks.

"Ow! Lovino, please! Ow!" I winced as Lovino's hands rubbed my scalp harshly.

"Stop moving. It will be over with soon." Lovino said. "I just need to make sure the dye shampoo is everywhere."

"Ow! The box said all over the hair, not directly in the brain!" I said behind gritted teeth.

"Aw, don't worry, bella!" Feli cooed. He rubbed my back from where he stood by Lovino. "Lovino's almost done."

"My shirt is wet." I said.

"Then take it off." Lovino said.

"No!" I growled. "That was a hint to hurry up, not for me to strip."

"I don't think either of us would mind…" Lovino said.

"Fratello!" Feli scolded. "Be nice!"

"There! Done! Are you happy?" Lovino asked. He wrung out my hair and Feli wrapped a towel around my head.

"Come here, bella! Let me dry your hair." Feli smiled. He sat me down in a chair and took a nearby hairdryer to dry my damp and dyed hair.

"There! All done!" Feli said. "Take a look, bella."

I got up and went over to the mirror above the sink. "…What?"

"How do you like it?" Feli said.

"My…hair…" I took a deep breath. "is purple…"

"I know!" Feli said, his bubbly personality shining through.

"Why is my hair purple?" I asked Lovino.

"So your brother doesn't recognize you! Honestly…" Lovino shook his head in disappointment.

"Fine! As long as it comes out." I said, feeling my new hair.

"You look pretty, bella!" Feliciano said, rubbing my back and giving me a huge smile.

"Thanks, Feli." I said.

"Now, come with me and let's get you dressed for tonight!" Feliciano said.

…

"Are you sure this is ok?" I blushed, looking at the two men before me.

They didn't say anything.

"Feli? Lovino? Hello?"

"Hm?" Lovino snapped his head up. "Yeah…you look…great…"

I looked once more into the mirror. The little black dress was snug against my thighs and hips. The sleeves were short and made of a smooth silk that swished against my arms. The collar was a v-neck that ended one-third down my chest. I was wearing black sheer pantyhose and black high heels.

I was standing in a circular room. There was a platform in the middle and a large window on the side of the circle opposite the door. There was a curtain in one corner were I got dressed. I guessed the Italian brothers used this room a lot for modeling clothes.

Lovino pointed at the shoes. "Those look nice. They fit you. You should model for me."

Did I mention that both Italian men made the outfit I was wearing? Lovino made the shoes and Feli designed and made the dress.

"You look nice in that dress too." Feli said, his voice in a dream-like state as he stared at me.

"Thank you." I said.

"We just need to add one more thing…" Lovino said. He went over to a jewelry box and opened it up, pulling out a large necklace. His brother went over to help take out what seemed to be an entire car full of white jewels.

"Are those diamonds?" I asked.

Lovino put the heavy necklace around my neck. "Yes." He said.

Feliciano put matching diamond bracelets on each of my hands and then put diamond rings on nearly each finger on both hands. Lovino put in diamond earrings that nearly touched my shoulders. Then Lovino started pulling at my new purple hair until it was in a loose bun. He when was done, he put in a diamond hair clip to secure the bun. They both backed away again.

"Damn, it's like a new woman." Lovino said.

"Oh, bella~!" Feli sighed. "You're so pretty!"

I looked at all the diamonds. "Are you sure you guys want to trust me with these? If my brother shows up and I need to run, I might end up breaking something…"

"I don't think your brother's going to see you under all those jewels." Lovino said.

"Don't worry, bella!" Feliciano said. "You'll be fine!"

"_Fratello, lei sembra davvero come un animale domestico mafia, non lo fa?"_ Lovino said, smiling.

"_Si!" _Feliciano agreed to whatever his brother said.

"Now for the final touch…" Lovino said.

He pulled out a little box and got down on one knee. "Natalina Ayers, will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a relatively plain diamond ring.

"…the hell?" I said.

Both brothers laughed. "You should see your face!" Lovino laughed.

"Oh, bella!" Feli laughed. "You're blushing!"

"I am not!" I said. "What's the meaning of all this?"

Lovino waved off my attitude. "Relax, it's a fake. To keep you safe, you're going to be "engaged" to me."

"But wouldn't it seem fishy?" I asked.

Lovino frowned. "Why? Is the fake ring that bad looking?"

"No. The problem is that who on God's green earth would want to marry you?" I asked.

Feli burst into laughter.

"Hey, I'm a desirable man in Italy!" Lovino said. "And I'm the stronger of the two men here!"

"Don't get pissy, I was just kidding." I said.

"Now we wait until we need to go to the club!" Feli said. "I'm going to go get ready." He skipped off like a little kid who discovered he was going to the candy store.

"I'm going to go too." Lovino said. I huffed but then made a squeak sound as he pinched my butt.

Lovino winked at me. "Don't be late, sweetie!"

…

I growled at Lovino as he tried to put a hand on my leg. I slapped it away. "I told you we would pretend to be engaged not that you had the right to be a complete pervert!"

We were in Lovino's expensive sports car, going to the club where we would meet Antonio. I was riding shotgun while Lovino drove.

Lovino huffed. "Americans…"

"Worst date ever." I retorted.

"Come on, Natalina~!" Feli said from the backseat. "Is this really the worst date you've ever been on?"

"Yes. Because I have to pretend I like the person sitting next to me."

"It could be worse." Feli shrugged.

"How?"

"I don't know…" Feli thought. "Oh! You could be stuck in a huge house with a grey alien monster that chases you and kills off all of your friends one-by-on and you have to reverse time to save them-"

"Brother, you're voice is hurting my ears. Stop talking." Lovino said.

"Fine." Feli pouted.

"As soon as we find Antonio, we're going to let you two leave for his house, ok?" Lovino said.

"Yes." I said.

He pulled the car into the parking lot. "Let's dance, baby."

…

As soon as we entered the club, Lovino wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to the point where our bodies touched. I growled at him but didn't pull away. The club pounded with dance music and fast singers singing in Italian.

The Italian brothers didn't look so bad themselves. Lovino was wearing a black shirt with a red tie and his brother wore a black shirt with a blue tie. Lovino ran a hand through his hair and smiled down at me.

"_Baciami._" He cooed. He picked up my chin and forced me to kiss him.

"Hm, you don't taste so bad. I can see why all the countries wanted you." Lovino whispered in my ear, an amused purr in his voice.

"Shut up." I growled.

"I should have played that love game too." Lovino said as we strolled into the club.

"You would have lost." I said.

"You'd be surprised." Lovino said.

"Come on, you two." Feli said. "This is not a time to fight."

"I guess he's right." Lovino said. "Antonio's not here yet, so we might as well sit down and relax. Just stay in character and you'll be fine."

"What's my character anyways?" I asked.

"Do you see the way people are looking at us right now?" Lovino asked.

I looked around the club. People stared at us and as soon as one of the brothers caught them looking, they'd turn away. People cleared a path for us if bumped up against someone in the crowded club.

"Aren't they acting like we're…dangerous?" Lovino said.

"They are." I said.  
>"What is a force that's very dangerous in Italy?" Lovino asked.<p>

I thought for a moment. "You mean…the Mafia?"

Lovino nodded. "As of right now, you're going to get married into a Mafia family. That's why you're dripping with diamonds and I'm so protective of you."

"Ok. Got it." I said. _My God! The Mafia! What if the police find us here? Then I've got a lot more to worry about than just my brother. _

"_Un fiore americano, eh?" _Someone called. We all turned to see a group of men approach us.

"Natalina, don't move away from me." Lovino whispered in my ear.

"_Perché non lasciarli, tesoro?"_ One man said. He tried to step closer to me but Feliciano and Lovino stepped in front of me.

"_E 'con noi." _Feliciano said coolly.

"_E perché non si può non essere con voi?" _Another man sneered.

"_E 'sposare in questa famiglia." _Lovino growled.

"_Ehi, cosa è per te, amico?" _The first man said.

Feliciano grabbed the man's tie and Lovino punched him across the jaw.

"_Se vi piacciono le rotule, stare alla larga da me e la mia famiglia!" _Lovino yelled.

"_M-Mafia…" _The second man gasped.

"_Si ', bastardo! Vattene via da noi!" _Lovino yelled.

"_Fratello, calmati." _Feliciano said. He was acting so differently from the Feliciano I know.

"_Hai ragione. Cerchiamo di non perdere tempo qui. Ho bisogno di bere." _Lovino said. He wrapped an arm around me and we strolled away.

"Here. Sit down." Lovino said as we reached the bar. I went to take an empty bar stool and Lovino beat me to it. As I went to take the seat next to him, Lovino pulled me to him. "Sit down."

I scowled but I agreed to sit down on Lovino's lap. He rubbed my hip and Feliciano ordered three drinks. Feliciano sat down next to us.

"You enjoying yourself, Natalina?" Feliciano asked.

"Sort of." I said.

"I can make you enjoy yourself more." Lovino said. "_Baciami_."

I was forced to kiss Lovino again.

"You two look like you're so in love~!" Feliciao said.

"I wouldn't mind actually mind marrying you." Lovino contemplated.

"Shut up!" I blushed. The bartender handed us the drinks.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I got you an American drink!" Feliciano said.

"Thank you, Feli." I frowned. "I'm sorry but I don't drink."

"You don't?" Lovino said.

"My family has a history about alcohol." I said. "Thank you for the thought, though."

Feli passed the martini to Lovino. "I can't drink that. It makes me sick."

"Fine." Lovino sipped the drink. "I always had the stronger stomach."

We sat there for a few minutes before Lovino perked his head up. "Spain's here."

"How can you tell?" I looked around room but I couldn't find the Spanish man.

"Because I can smell the farm pesticides from across the club. Feli, watch her while I go find the tomato bastard." Lovino got up and looked around the huge dance floor.

Feli smiled at me and took a sip of his wine. "You sure look pretty tonight, bella!"

"Thanks Feli." I said.

Feli grew quiet. He grabbed my hand and smoothly made his way onto the dance floor with me. "Bella, don't talk." He whispered in my ear.

"Why?" I asked.

"Your brother is by the bar. He's talking to someone." Feli said.

My skin went cold and I think I started to shake a little.

"Bella, it's ok." Feli said. Obviously he saw the state I was in. "Just stay calm. Remember, you look nothing like what he thinks you look like."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"By the bar." Feli said.

I turned around slowly to see what he looked like. "Where is he? I can't find him."

"He's the one with the eye patch." Feli said.

I found a man with an eye patch but I swear he looked nothing like my brother. His face was worn and tough and he never smiled. He hunched his shoulders, as if everyone was watching him. He looked…more like my father when he was drinking.

I started to drift over to him to get a better look. Feli caught my arm and turned me around. "Don't look at him."

"There's something wrong with him." I said.

"He's trying to kill you! Of course he's 'wrong'!" Feli hissed in my ear. "Just stay away from him."

"I don't give a damn about your God damn sister!" Lovino yelled. We turned to find him at the bar, Antonio standing besides him. "I'm done dealing with her! I quit this whole thing and let her off the hook."

"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Lovino's lying. Your brother knows _who_ he is and Lovino wants to make it seem like you're no longer important to him and the country of Italy." Feliciano said.

My brother turned to face us. Feliciano grabbed me right before my brother and I made eye contact and he slammed me against a wall. I yelped in surprise but I was shocked beyond words when he started making out with me.

"Hush, bella. Don't let him think you're his sister." Feliciano said. He continued kissing me.

"Feli…not the tongue…gagging…me…" I said, trying to avoid Feli's French kiss.

"Hm! You're no fun, bella." Feliciano said.

That's when we heard a slam sound. We turned to find Antonio pulling my brother off of Lovino. Lovino reeled back and hit my bother in the jaw. I screamed but then covered my mouth when I realized what I did. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Ivan standing behind me.

"Time to go." Feliciano said. Feli didn't let Ivan even speak. He pulled me away from the Russian and tried to push his way through the crowd, me in tow. Feli was very good at retreating but I think Ludwig told me about that some time ago.

I heard a crash and looked up to see the disco ball falling towards Feli and me. Lovino flew into the both of us and wind left my lungs as we crashed to the ground. I felt the diamonds of the necklace leave my neck and watched as they scattered on the floor. Lovino got off of Feli and me and we turned to see the damage that was done. The floor was cleared of people, everyone yelling in Italian. Antonio was running towards us, Ivan right behind him. My brother was still at the bar, grabbing his chin that Lovino punched, blood dripping from his fingers. He turned his one good eye to me.

"That was clever." He yelled across the club. "That was really clever to use that hair dye. But I know your scream. I'm the one who caused it!"

Lovino scowled at my brother and then looked at the disco ball, semi-cracked and laying on the floor near his feet. "Spain, head's up!" He yelled.

Antonio was busy dodging Ivan at the time but he looked up when Lovino yelled at him. Ivan grabbed Antonio's shirt but Antonio dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, surprising Ivan. Antonio rolled across the floor just in time for Lovino to kick the disco ball like a soccer ball. Antonio hit the ball with his chest and while it was in the air in front of him, Antonio turned and kicked the ball at Ivan, who was knocked over by the force of the ball. Antonio thrust both fists into the air and gave a smile of success.

"Goal!" Lovino yelled. Antonio grabbed the ball again from where was lying next to Ivan. He backed up a little and gave the ball a swift kick, sending it flying across the room. It hit the power board where the club lights were controlled in the back of the room. The club spazzed with color. The drunks in the room screamed in happiness at the sudden rave party and the rest of the people were still trying to sort out the confusion. The light operator was going insane.

Antonio ran over to us and grabbed my arm.

"Thank Lovi! I'll see you later." He said.

"Bastard." Lovino said.

"Bye Spain!" Feliciano said, pushing us both out of the club while my brother was still confused by the lights.

"Bye bye Italy!" Antonio said as he dragged me with him. He ran out the emergency exit, setting off alarms and making everyone panic. His car was parked right there. He opened it up and I crawled into the seat. Antonio got into the driver's seat and slammed of the gas, making the car jolt forward.

"How are you, Natalina?" Antonio asked as soon as we were on the highway heading for Spain.

"Nearly dead. You?" I asked.

"Nearly killed." Antonio smiled, his green eyes shining despite the hell we just went through.

"That's good to know." I said. "Is there anything I need to worry about once we get to your house?"

"Well, there's your brother." Antonio said. He glanced at my attire. "And Aurora."

_*****My God, I'm done! I'm finally done! This chapter has been hell for me. Sorry about the Lovino tongue when talking about this but Writer's Block hit me like a train and it backed up and ran over me again and again and again. But it's done and it's a long chapter, so I hope this keeps you guys busy while I keep writing.**_

_**Need help for the contest fangame reference? Hint: It's not while Natalina's IN the club. There you go! **_

_**Translations for the Italian (Google translate FTW): **_

_**House scene: **_

"_**Fratello, lei sembra davvero come un animale domestico mafia, non lo fa?" = "Brother, she really looks like a Mafia pet, doesn't she?"**_

_**Club Scene: **_

"_**Baciami" = "Kiss me." **_

"_**Un fiore americano, eh?"= "An American flower, huh?" **_

"_**Perché non lasciarli, tesoro?" = "Why don't you come with us, sweetie?" **_

"_**E 'con noi." = "She's with us." **_

" _**E perché non si può non essere con voi?" = "And why can't she not be with you?" **_

"_**E 'sposare in questa famiglia." = "She's marrying into this family." **_

"_**Ehi, cosa è per te, amico?" = "Hey, what's it to you, buddy?" **_

"_**Se vi piacciono le rotule, stare alla larga da me e la mia famiglia!" = "If you like your kneecaps, get the hell away from my family!"**_

_**Si ', bastardo! Vattene via da noi!"= "Yeah, bastard! Get the hell away!" **_

"_**Fratello, calmati." = "Brother, calm down"**_

"_**Hai ragione. Cerchiamo di non perdere tempo qui. Ho bisogno di bere." = "You're right. Let's not waste time here. I need a drink." **_


	11. Chapter 11

_*****Me: ***__**Poof!* "I am the magical author fairy!" **_

_**DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympian s and SuperAwesomeDia: "Wow!" **_

_**Me: "You have both entered the contest for what fangame Italy mentions in my last chapter. There is a problem, though, as you both answered 'HetaOni', the correct answer, at about the same time. Since I can't tell which one of you entered first, I choose that DoctorWho gets first pick. What do you want: A new character or your favorite character to have up next?" **_

_**DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlymians : "I choose Grandpa Rome!" **_

_**Me: "Ok!" **_

_**SuperAwesomeDia: "I want A PONY! :D" **_

_**Me: "Ok- NO! NO! NO ponies for you! Remember what happened last time? Do I need you to say sorry to Norway AGAIN?!" **_

_**SuperAwesomeDia: "THE JET SKIIS WERE AN ACCIDENT."**_

_**Me: "No ponies. Just…no." **_

_**First up, Grandpa Rome! I'll…try and make this work for you, DoctorWho…*****_

"Are you done yet?" Antonio laughed from the other side of the door.

"No!" I yelled back.

I was bent over Antonio's sink. My scalp could probably come off at any moment from my scrubbing. A nice lather of shampoo in my hair was now dripping with purple dye that I was trying to get out. I washed out the foam and wrapped a towel around my shoulders and opened up the door.

"How is it?" I asked.

Antonio felt my wet hair. "Still there, just a bit-"

I turned and marched back into the bathroom and bent over it again and proceeded to wash my hair again.

I heard Antonio chuckle. "Chica, it's never going to come out."

"Try me." I growled. "I will murder Lovino for this! Of all the hair colors, of all the dresses-"

"Shhhhhhhh…" A voice said softly in my ear. I made a little yelp at the sudden closeness of Antonio. "Don't speak." He said.

Well, to say the least, I was indeed unable to speak. I felt a towel wrap around my head and Antonio helped me stand up straight. He pulled me over to a chair and started drying my hair. There was an awkward silence before Antonio broke it.

"…Hey, did you know I was a pirate?" Antonio asked me as he rubbed at my head.

"No. I didn't." I said.

"I was. Do you know what was the number 1 thing that all pirates mistake?" He asked.

"What's that?" I asked.

"They all thought anger was going to make them win." Antonio said. "It never is. You need to learn that anger, while it feels good during a battle or fight, is not the way to win a war. You can start a fight with anger but it fades fast." He threw away the towel, which was now soiled with purple hair dye. He patted my shoulders. "Don't get too angry, ok? At anything."

"I'm sorry." I said in a soft voice.

"No need to be sorry. It's just-" Antonio paused and sighed. "We're worried about you. We know you're trying to take the lead on this but we've seen too many brave people die because what they thought was the right moment was the wrong timing. I've seen it firsthand and I know many of the others have too."

"I'll be careful." I said.

"Good." Antonio patted my shoulders again and helped me stand. "I'm pretty sure there's a short Spanish woman downstairs who's dying to put you in a dress."

…

"Antonio…I can't…breathe…" I gasped.

Antonio chuckled and told something to the women in Spanish. Aurora huffed and loosened the dress' waist.

"You look really good, Natalina." Antonio said.

"Thanks." I gasped for air as my lungs were granted it. "Oh, I just_ love_ dresses."

"That sounded like sarcasm." Antonio said.

"I'm from South Carolina in America. I don't know a lot of women there who wear dresses anymore." I said. I stood up and looked in the mirror. The dress was short sleeved and made of earth-tone colors. "It looks nice. Thank you Aurora."

Antonio translated for Aurora. Aurora pinched my cheek and said something in Spanish. All the women gave an "aww" and looked at Antonio, who was hiding his face.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"N-Nothing!" Antonio said, blushing. None of the women would confess to me what the short woman said, so I assumed it had to do with Antonio and me.

I gave a soft smile to Antonio, who chuckled and shook his head slowly and mumbled something in Spanish to Aurora. I could tell that the two were very close.

I wondered what it was like to know that he would outlive Aurora by a couple hundred years. There was this look that they shared with each other; like the look a mother gives a son. Antonio would sometimes go and wrap his arms around Aurora and hold her in a death grip while she was trying to work. She'd laugh and scold him in Spanish and he would whine and laugh along with her while she struggled out of his grip. He would steal tomatoes from her when she was cooking and she'd chase after him or send the workers' children to run after the young man. It seemed like she was the only person who knew about Antonio's country representative life. Aurora had strands of grey hair, like stars against a black sky of her usual bun. While she showed signs of getting older, even in the one year since I last saw her, Antonio didn't age a day. His green eyes had no wrinkles around them and no other color than brown was in his hair. There must be pain at times, to know that the one motherly figure to the young (or very old, depending on how you look at it) Antonio would pass away while Antonio kept on living.

These were all the thoughts that passed through my mind as I sat on the porch of Antonio's home, looking out at the fields of tomatoes. Now was not the season to harvest them but I could see specks of green in the fields.

I heard Antonio sit down next to me.

"I love sunsets." Antonio said.

"Why?" I asked.

"It seems that the sun is giving its last show for people for the day." Antonio smiled. "It's like the sun is saying: 'Well, that's all, folks! I hope you enjoyed the light I gave you today! See you tomorrow!'" Antonio laughed. "Maybe I've been soaking in too much Spanish sun."

"I always liked the stars." I said. "In my home in South Carolina, there were these fireflies that always hung around this pond we had in our backyard. When I was really little, I thought they were stars that came down from the sky. I was never able to get close to one of them or catch them so I never found out that they were bugs. When I was six, my brother found one and gave it to me. I burst out into tears because they weren't stars. My mother and father told me that the fireflies were star messengers, carrying the starlight in their tails and exploring Earth to take back information to the stars." I smiled. "That was one of my best childhood memories. Sitting on our porch, talking to my mom and dad."

"It sounds like you have a great family." Antonio said.

"Had." I said. "Most of my family is spilt up and torn apart."

"How is your father handling this?" Antonio asked.

"I'm glad he's busy in rehab. They have activities and things to help him cope and distract him from alcohol. I can't even begin to think what would happen if he was at home. He's been taking the news of Brad very hard and if he was at home all day to sit and think about it, he'd probably go back to the bottle." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "I don't want to go back there again."

"It's ok _chica_." Antonio said. "I knew plenty of people who were…favorable of alcohol. It's not a pretty sight."

"Yeah." I said. I leaned against Antonio's shoulder. "So when will I have to be moved from your place? I'll be going with Francis?"

"Si." Antonio said. "He'll be here by midnight."

I nodded. I really was being passed around like a hot potato.

"Don't worry." Antonio said. "Everything will be alright."

I nodded. It was about the only thing I was up to doing.

…

Late that night I woke up to laughter. I snapped open my eyes and was face-to-face with an older man with bright brown eyes.

"You are as cute as my grandson said~!" The man said.

I shot up in the bed I was laying in. "Antonio!" I screamed. The man covered my mouth and I panicked.

"It's ok!" The man said. "I'm not here to hurt you!"

I kicked the man in the gut and he grunted.

"H-Hey! Don't do that to me! I've been sent by my grandson to watch over you!" The man said.

Well, he didn't look like my grandfather, so that ruled out my brother or any relatives. I stopped struggling and pried the man's fingers off of my mouth.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The man spread his arms out wide and smiled. "The Great Roman Empire!"

I paused and then looked down, rubbing my eyes. "Jesus Christ…"

"Aw, don't be sad~!" Rome said.

"Who is this grandson?" I asked. I took a good look at this man. His brown eyes and hair seemed familiar to me. "Wait, are you related to Feli- I mean, Italy?"

"My little grandson~!" The man smiled.

"That explains a lot. How did you get in here?" I asked.

"Through the window!" Rome said.

"Explains even more. Why did Italy send you here?"

Rome put a hand over mine. "Every night, my grandson prays to me because he believes I am in heaven! How cute~! Anyways, he prayed to me to watch over you while you were at Spain's house."

"So you crawl through the window? You couldn't, like, send a basket of fruit or a nice card or an M16?" I asked.

"Why would I do that? My grandson didn't ask me to send you fruit." Rome said.

"Never mind." I said. "So what words of wisdom do I owe the great Rome?"

"Just be safe~!" Rome said. "And remember the people helping you."

I slowly nodded my head. Then I heard a gunshot. I jumped.

"Oops! Guess it's time to go." Rome said.

"What do you mean, 'go'?" I asked.

That's when I woke up with a shot. I screamed but covered my mouth. Good. It was just a dream. There was no way there could be a gunshot in the middle of the-

*Bang!*

Guess not.

I jumped out of bed and slowly crept to the door. The gunshot sounded like it came from downstairs. I slowly opened the door and walked to the railing. I saw Antonio downstairs. He had a sword in his hand and he moved like a cat; just like the first time we met. He put a finger to his lips and signaled me to stay there.

I nodded and froze to my spot. Antonio hid behind a potted plant that was tall and bushy. I knelt down, peaking through the bars of the railing.

Of course, who else was it but my brother? He ran through the room downstairs where Antonio was hiding.

"Sis, I know you're here." Bradley yelled. The room reverberated his voice. "How about you make this easier on all of us?"

I swallowed harshly but kept my mouth shut.

"Oh, do you need me make you come out of your little hiding spot?" Bradley yelled. "I'm sure your little Spanish friend would love to get some information about you."

"Stop." I mouthed out. It was just for my own comfort. I looked down to see Antonio shifting uncomfortably in his spot behind the plant.

"Where's my little sister, huh? Where's Mommy's favorite child?" Bradley paced around the room. "Where's the girl with the password to rule the world?"

I bit my lip to try and not yell out. I never told the countries why my brother was chasing me again. I glanced down to see Antonio looking up at me, concern and confusion in his green eyes.

"Well, you aren't going to say anything, huh?" My brother yelled. Since when was Bradley so full of rage and anger? This wasn't something that was started by the countries chasing after me. This was an anger that built up since he was little. "How about we make this a little more gossip for your friends?"

"Stop." I mouthed out again. Antonio looked up at me.

"What was the name of the guy again? The one who broke your heart?" Bradley yelled. "The reason why you never fully trusted men again? The one, when you turned around from your misfortunes of him, you found out that no one was there comfort you?" Bradley said.

"Stop." I whispered. "Please." Antonio's eyes grew wide as Bradley went on.

"The guy that got so drunk on your first date, he dragged you out to his car and-"

"Stop it!" I screamed. Antonio covered his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from jumping in.

My brother chuckled. "And that's why you always hurt the ones who love you. Because you can never trust them fully."

"You don't know anything!" I screamed. "I got over it! I'm fine!"

"You always say that but it's just to make yourself feel better." Brad yelled. "What about all these countries that you loved and then ran away from? You knew you could never trust any of them for a long about of time, chip or no chip. You know you can never hold the weight of the world in your heart. Literally."

I stood up from my hiding place. "I was trusted with it because you were never there for Mom!"

"But trusting Mom made her precious work slowly kill you." Brad yelled back. "Your heart was being ripped to shreds by that chip."

"And are you saying that if you took on the chip instead of me, your heart would hold out better than mine?" I yelled.

Brad went quiet.

"You would die at the same time as I would." I yelled. "Why are you willing to do that?"

"I'm willing to die!" Brad yelled.

"I am too!" I screamed.

"I can't let you die!" Brad yelled. He bit his lip, his eyes begging to take back what he said but knowing it was too late.

"And I can't let you die." I said. "Or, I thought I couldn't."

"What are you saying Natalina?" Brad said.

"I'm saying that I know you need to…" I gulped "…to go."

"I'd love to, dear sis but I've got a world to take over." Bradley said.

"_Stop ou nous tirons!_" Someone yelled. Bradley turned around. Francis ran into the room with twelve people from the French Military with him.

Antonio took that time to tackle my brother to the ground. Bradley yelled in anger and pain. I yelled out to stop Antonio but I turned away. If he was going to die, so be it.

Antonio yelled out in pain and I looked down to see my brother getting out of Antonio's grasp. Francis raised his hand to signal his Military to fire but another voice broke everyone's concentration.

"Antonio!" Aurora yelled.

We all turned to see Ivan holding the short Spanish woman in his grasp. Her feet were off of the ground and Ivan's arm was wrapped around her neck.

Francis pointed at Ivan but Antonio stopped him.

"Don't hit her!" Antonio said. "Let me get her!" Antonio ran to Ivan with his sword in his hand. While everyone was watching the fight between Ivan and Antonio unfold, I saw my brother creeping away from everyone. He was slowly taking out his gun from the back holster he had. I dropped to my hands and knees and slowly crawled across the hallway floor. There were decorative paintings and pots everywhere. I reached up to a small shelf and grabbed one of the pots. Once I crawled until I was over Brad, I threw the pot down below.

And promptly missed.

The pot crashed down next to Brad, sending shards of terra cotta scattering across the floor. Bradley recoiled as some shards hit his forearms. He looked up at me from the railing with his one good eye. We didn't do anything but stare at each other for a moment.

His face used to be so soft and kind; chocolate eyes that smiled at me when he left for college. That day was the only day since my mother died that my father was sober. Bradley packed his things for medical school. I was in high school. Bradley hugged me and told me that I should visit sometime because the campus was beautiful.

Now his eyes were cold like stone. His face was broken and jagged with scars. He hunched over a bit and his face was always twisted into a snarl. I wondered how I looked. I probably didn't look any better. We were like soldiers, hardened by war.

That's when Aurora hit my brother with a piece of wood. It was nice to see that while I was busy throwing things at my brother, Aurora was freed. I turned to see Antonio fighting Ivan, Francis doing his best to direct the French Military on how to shoot Ivan but alas, they were French. Antonio turned to see Aurora and me fighting my brother. He jumped away from Ivan, giving the French a chance to put a bucket full of lead in Ivan. It wasn't a pretty sight. Ivan crashed tot eh ground. I didn't see any blood but Ivan had lots of think clothes on.

Antonio ran to us and Bradley recoiled from Aurora hitting him. He turned away and the gun that was meant for me was now pointed at Antonio. I screamed at Antonio to stop but Antonio's body didn't stop the bullet.

Aurora, who threw herself in the way of the gun, stopped it. Now I wasn't the one to scream; Antonio was. His green eyes fell like shining stars crashing to earth. It was like a shock went through his body when Aurora was shot. I threw another pot at my brother, which hit him on the shoulder and then I ran downstairs, against the will of the yelling French soldiers. Francis grabbed my arm.

"Don't." He said. "We need to leave."

"But Aurora-" I started.

"Leave!" Francis yelled. He pushed me at the soldiers. "I'll take care of them."

I reached out for Francis' hand but he turned and ran at my brother. The soldiers dragged me outside. They had a car waiting for me outside.

"Francis will meet you at a secret location." One soldier said before shutting the door. I looked out the back window.

So little time at Antonio's place.

So much to explain.

_***** ***__**Head-desk* It's done! Over with! Sorry for the very long wait for an update guys. I feel terrible inside when people keep asking me when I'm going to update. I'm trying to be a good Author-chan but house moving, new-born family members and new schools are like a different kind of Writer's Block that no one thinks of until it happens to you. So I hope you guys like this. Don't get mad. **_

_**Don't hide me in a closet. **_

_**I hate closets. **_

…_*******_


	12. Chapter 12

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked the soldier next to me. The soldier glanced at me before addressing another soldier. That soldier turned to me.

"We take you to Danish dog." The soldier said with a grin, in a very thick French accent.

"…I caught 'we'." I said.

The man waved me off. The car was like a short limousine, with a small bar and plenty of seats. The soldiers took advantage of the bar.

I didn't keep track of how long I was in the car. My mind kept going back to Aurora, whose life was given in my place at Antonio's. Every now and then, I'd break down into tears, much to the surprise of the soldiers. Some of them offered me a tissue, wine or a cigarette. I took the tissue but the other things I shook my head at politely. I would not carry on the family gene of bad habits.

Like I said, I didn't keep track of time. All I knew was that the car slowed to a stop and the soldiers all started talking in French. I tried to ask someone about where we were but the man just patted me on the shoulder and escorted me out of the car.

The air was slightly cold, making me give a small shudder. The soldiers surrounded me and led me down the alley. I heard footsteps that didn't belong to the group of soldiers but I couldn't see past them. Then the group stopped. As they parted, I saw a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes look at me. He was wearing a trench coat and matching hat. He gave a cocky smile to me and nodded at the soldiers.

"I'll take it from here." He said in a light Germanic accent.

"Wait." I said to the soldiers. They didn't pay attention to me; instead, they nodded and went back to the car. "Hey!" I yelled.

I turned to face this new man. "Who are you?" I demanded.

"I'm a friend of Francis." He said. "I'm here to take you to me place for a bit until he gets back." The man gave me a tip of his hat and a small nod. "Mathias Kohler, or the country of Denmark, at your service!"

I backed up a bit. "How can I trust you?" I asked.

"Really? Really? Do I look like the guy to beat up a girl? Especially when I've heard she can kick my ass?" Mathias said.

I crossed my arms and backed up even more. "I can't trust you."

Mathias took out a cell phone. "Do you want me to call Francis? Get his ok on this?"

"Yes. I would like that." I said.

Mathias rolled his eyes and dialed Francis' number. "Alright but just keep moving, ok? You can run screaming later but I don't want you to be seen." Mathias paused in his speaking as Francis answered the phone. "Hey, Francis, tell the little missy she's safe with me, would ya?"

Mathias shoved the phone in my hand. "Francis?" I asked the person on the other end.

"_Mon cher, _it's ok." Francis said. "Mathias is a trustworthy person. I feel that you are safe with him until I can get to you."

*Thunk* "Ow!"

I turned to see Mathias, who was rubbing a forming bruise on his head. It seemed he just ran into a bar above him. I paused before going back to the phone. "I don't believe you." I bluntly stated.

"_Mon amour_, looks are not everything. Trust me."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm with Antonio. We're burying-" Mathias took the phone from me.

"Hey, Francis, love to talk to you but we've got to get a move on." Mathias said. He waited for Francis' reply and then hung up the phone.

My eyes sunk to the ground.

"Alright, let's go!" Mathias said. By the time I got off the phone with Francis, we were already across the long alleyway and into a parking lot. Mathias had a silver car that was ready for us. I got into the passenger seat while Mathias drove. I noticed how far back my seat was from the dashboard.

Mathias glanced over at me and snickered. "You can pull the seat forward if you want. Sve sat there last time."

"Who's Sve?" I asked.

"A nickname for a friend. You'll meet him." Mathias said.

Judging by the height difference between "Sve" and me, I wasn't really sure I would be willing to meet him.

The drive was quiet, except for Mathias' whistling, drumming on the steering wheel and song on the radio that was completely different from what he was whistling. I curled up on the seat and watched the world go by.

"Hey, we won't be at my place until early in the morning. Get some rest, ok?" Mathias said.

I put my head down on the seat and tried to close my eyes.

…

"Sve! I'll get her!"

"Don't you dare, Mat! What happens if she wakes up from your voice?"

"Too late g'ys."

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around. I was still in the car, with three people standing over me. I let out a yell and tried to back up against the seat of the car.

"Copenhagen on a cracker!" Mathias yelled out. He grabbed my shoulders. "Relax, pige, relax."

"I-I'm sorry." I said, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "It's my first reaction."

"That's one hell of a reaction." Mathias snickered. Someone nudged him in the ribs.

"Be careful, Mat. Don't scare or upset her."

I looked at this new man. He was shorter than the two men with him and he had blonde hair and brown eyes. He had caring eyes and a slightly worried face that was hidden by a smile.

Next to him was the man called Sve. How do I know this? He was giant and towered above everyone. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that were either very distant/not connected to reality, or eyes that were so focused I didn't know how to describe it.

"Are you ok?" The shorter man asked. I nodded and got out of the car. We were in front of a large house in the country.

Mathias wrapped an arm around me. "Natalina, I'd like you to meet Tino and Berwald, also known as the countries of Finland and Sweden."

"It's nice to meet you." I said.

"It's nice to finally meet you too!" Tino said, shaking my hand.

"H'w's your heart?" Berwald asked.

"…My heart?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

Tino chuckled. "You probably don't remember. Berwald was the doctor that took care of you when your brother opened up your heart for that chip."

"When Alfred flew me to a hospital in Sweden!" I said. "I remember that! …But I don't remember you." I said to Berwald.

"He had some politics that he needed to deal with after he sewed together your heart." Tino said. I hadn't even noticed that we started walking. "Other doctors and nurses took care of you after that."

I looked Berwald in the eyes. "Thank you." I said. I tried my best to put the most sincere gratitude in my voice. This man did save my life after all.

"No pr'blem." Berwald said. He didn't crack a smile once since I met him and had a feeling that this was a silent man who had seen a lot in his life. A man of many actions; a man of little words. That's what my mother always called these people.

"Francis called while we were on the road." Mathias said. "He said he'd be here by the evening."

Tino nodded. By that time, we reached the front door. Tino opened up the door and I walked inside. The house was big, with beautiful hardwood floors and cream walls. I was standing by in the doorway to the living room. On one side, a staircase made it's way up to a balcony. On the other side was a TV set, chairs and a couch.

As Tino walked through the door, a white ball of fur hit him in the chest, knocking over the little man in surprise.

We all turned to see what happened to Tino. A little white dog was sitting on Tino's chest, licking his face.

"Gah! Hana! Down!" Tino chuckled. "That tickles!"

Berwald cracked a small smile (for the first time) and picked up the little dog, tucking it in his large arms.

"That's it?" A strange voice asked with an irritated tone. We all looked up at the balcony to see a boy about 16 with silver hair and purple eyes looking down at us. He wore a frown on his face.

There was a chuckle and we turned to the couch to see a man sitting there, reading some sort of old book. "I told Icy that you were outside with her and he got excited about a possible battle happening outside." The man said. He had platinum blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Don't call me Icy." The boy with purple eyes glared at the other man.

"No, Emil, no battle." Tino said in a strict voice.

Emil, the boy on the balcony, frowned even more at Tino's words. "But I was so excited to see something happen…"

Mathias laughed. "Ah, Emil, when you live as long as us and you see as much as we do, you'll be glad for the peace and quiet."

"Speak for yourself, Denmark!" Emil snapped. "You were one of the bravest Vikings to ever live! You are a major Nordic trade center and your country is popular and noticed. What's my country worrying about right now? Changing my name!"

"I still vote for Niceland." The man on the couch said.

"Fluffybunnyland." Tino chirped in.

"My vote's for OMGWFTland." Mathias laughed.

Berwald just grunted and walked off with the little dog while Emil turned pink with anger.

"Ah, anyways, Natalina, this is Lucas and Emil." Tino said, first pointing to the man on the couch and then to the boy on the stairs.

Lucas nodded his head at me and Emil walked down the stairs.

"So that's it?" Emil asked. "No evil to fight? Just a girl?"

"A girl with the power to rule the world!" Mathias wrapped an arm around me.

"Emil, what's your problem today?" Tino asked. "Is it your country's money or something?"

"No." Emil said. "Mr. Puffin ate my shark meat."

"Aw, I'll go out tonight and get you more." Tino said.

"Shark…meat?...Puffins?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

Tino chuckled and patted my back. "We have an interesting group of people. I hope you get to meet the whole family by the end of the day!"

I nodded weakly.

"Can I get you anything?" Tino asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." I said.

"How about you check out your room for the night?" Mathias asked me.

I nodded again and followed him up the stairs.

…

"That's the bed, dresser, bathroom's down the hall, anything else?" Mathias asked me.

"I don't think so." I said.

Mathias looked at his watch. "10:00 AM. We've got a whole day ahead of us."

As we walked down the stairs, something pinched my, well, for lack of a better word at the moment, my butt. I squeaked and went to slap Mathias, the only person who could have been guilty, when I heard a rough voice.

"Mmm, I'd like some of that, baby!" I turned around to find nothing in sight. As I began to wonder if I made the whole thing up, something pinched my heel. I looked down to see a little penguin-like bird peaking at my feet. "Down here, honey!" The bird gruffed.

"M…Mathias?" I squeaked out. Mathias let out a laugh.

"I see you met one of our pets here!" Mathias said. "Meet Mr. Puffin!"

"Hey sweetie!" The bird said, giving a short flight onto my head. I froze as it made a nest in my hair to rest on.

"Did…that bird…just talk?" I asked Mathias.

"A freak accident of Lucas'." Emil said, coming up the stairs to take the bird off of my head.

"How can Lucas create a talking bird?" I asked.

"You do not know Lucas in any way, shape, or form then." Emil said.

"I guess not…" I said. I swore the bird winked at me.

"Ah, don't worry about Mr. Puffin's attitude." Mathias said. "He got his tongue from Emil."

"Shutupshutupshutupshutupshut up." Emil growled.

"Heeeeyyy, look! Just in time for some football!" Tino was quick to slide in between the two men and offer a pleasant smile to everyone standing there.

…

One football game, three Danish beers and a perverted puffin later, Tino broke up yet another fight between Lucas and Mathias (DO NOT ASK) and invited all in for some lunch.

"You are all going to love this!" Tino said. "Swedish meatballs and lox!"

"Again?" Emil sighed.

Mathias slapped him on the back. "Aw, you're such a baby, Emil!"

"Am not!" Emil snapped.

"Stop it." Tino warned.

I gave a small smile to myself. Everyone seemed so close knit. They might look like they fight a lot but I knew that if one of them dared to get hurt, they would all rush to the aid of the wounded.

As the kitchen turned into a cheery gathering, with the quieter Lucas and Berwald across from me and Emil and Mathias to one side of me, there was an unexpected sound that rang out.

It sounded like a gun.

I bolted up from the table and grabbed the edge to prevent me from running out of the house all together. Mathias and Emil stood up as if they were going to tackle me if I ran.

"Woops!" Tino chuckled. "Mr. Puffin!"

As my blood started to slow down the pounding it made in my ears, I heard the ringing of something metallic. I turned to see a pot lid on the ground and a guilty looking puffin on the counter.

"Jeez, jumpy, huh?" Mathias asked me.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I don't know what came over me…" I said.

"It's ok." Berwald said. "Sit down."

As I slowly sat down, I felt a pain in my chest. I slowly stood back up and excused myself. I went into the backroom and coughed into a tissue. No blood. That's good.

I went back into the kitchen and sat down at the table. As lunch continued, the pain in my chest got worse. First, Alfred and me visiting my father and now this… What was wrong with me?

I tried to cover the pain by smiling and drinking some water, biting the glass rim with my teeth. By the time lunch was wrapping up, the pain made me want to gnaw off the table edge. I felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down my neck. I chuckled and laughed when everyone else did, not really noticing what anyone was talking about.

Berwald noticed my state of health as soon as I sat back down at the table after I felt the first pain. Even though I tried my best to hide it, Berwald kept a careful eye on me.

"Hey, Natalina, are you ok?" Tino asked as he collected the dishes from everyone.

"I'm fine Tino!" I offered my best smile and giggle. "Just a little tired, that's all."

I pushed my chair away and nodded to everyone there. "I'm just going to go rest for a little bit now."

Berwald gave a short grunt and pushed his chair away. He walked towards the living room and as I left for my bedroom, we met in the hallway. Berwald touched my shoulder and I gave a gulp.

"Something's wrong." I said behind gritted teeth.

_*****Lordy, where did this come from? Anyways, SuperAwesomeDia wanted a Denmark appearance for her prize and wherever Denmark is, the other Nordics are sure to follow! **_

_**And to answer everyone's questions**_**, **_**I don't like small closets. I mean, closets where I can barely move my arms or legs (is slightly claustrophobic).**_

_**If you have any other questions, please keep them in mind for my upcoming Q&A after TMTIAL is finished! As far as the whole story goes, I'm starting the plans for wrapping this one up. I've also got plans to wrap up my DeviantArt 2P!Italy story, "Belle of the Bloody Ball" (you can find it on my Dev page under HorseandWolfLover93) so as a celebration, I'll be doing a DeviantArt Q&A, where you can ask me anything you'd like! I'll reveal more details as I get closer to wrapping this story up! **_

_**Also, could you all do me a favor and answer the poll on my page? Thanks!*****_


	13. Chapter 13

I opened my eyes slowly. My breathing was short and heavy, my tired chest rising and falling quickly. Mathias was sitting in a chair next to me and when I woke up, he went to go find Berwald. I was on the couch, an IV in my arm. Berwald walked into the living room with Mathias.

"What happened?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Ya op'ned up ya'r heart again." Berwald said. "Not entirely, b't close."

"Berwald was trying to get you up the stairs but you fell before he could get you up." Mathias said. "You were yelling and screaming in pain."

"Wow, I'm sorry I missed it." I said.

Berwald pulled out a stethoscope and put it in his ears, then put the other end to my heart. "Ya'r doing better."

"What caused this?" I asked.

"Stress m'st likely." Berwald said, putting the stethoscope away. "I'll be back." He turned and left the room, leaving Mathias alone with me. He sighed.

"Wow. More than meets the eye, eh _pige_?" He smiled. "I didn't know you were under that much stress."

"I didn't either." I said, sitting up. "I guess it comes with the pressure of the world."

"I guess so." Mathias shrugged.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Just about 7:00 PM." He said.

Then the door slammed. I jumped but Mathias put a hand on my lap so I wouldn't bolt or freak out. A blonde haired man rushed into the room, followed by Tino. Both were panting. The man rushed up to me and hugged me, not giving me enough time to exactly calculate who he was but giving me a good idea with his medium long hair and rose perfume. I hugged Francis back.

"_Oh, Dieu merci tu vas bien. Je m'inquiétais pour toi, ma douce._" Francis rushed. He sat down next to the couch I was laying on and leaned back, taking a good look at me. "You look horrible."

"You look just about the same." I said, noticing his panting as well as his face, which was red from the cold outside. He gave a small laugh.

"At least my heart isn't exploding." He said, rubbing my cheek. "Tino and I just ran circles around your brother to lose him. He was on our tracks but we got rid of him in Switzerland."

"I'll have to remember to say thank you to Vash at the next Conference." Tino huffed. Even his face was pink from the chill outside.

"_Oui._" Francis nodded at Tino. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my heart ripped open, which isn't that far from the truth." I gave a weak smile at Francis. He frowned and stood up.

"Sweden." He called. "When can she be moved?"

Berwald walked into the room with a pill and some water. "N't for at least a d'y." He said.

Francis' frown grew deeper. "She needs to leave. Her brother will be after her."

"Do you want her to die?" Tino interfered. "Listen to him, France!"

"Hey, France, it's ok." Mathias laughed. "We will keep her safe."

Francis sighed. "I know you will. But there are others that…disagree." He said, running his hand through his blonde hair. "Others that want war."

That caught everyone's attention.

"War?" Mathias laughed. "Who would want war?"

"The countries that are threatened by Russia." Francis said. "Many politicians don't even know the threat but Russia's using his sisters and underlings. All Baltic countries, Belarus' and Ukraine's borders that touch other countries that Russia doesn't own are surrounded by Russian forces. Not that anyone really knows. It's just the country representatives."

"When is he going to strike?" Mathias asked.

"When he has a _password_." Francis said, turning to me. "Isn't that right, Natalina?"

I looked down at my hands. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. "Antonio told you?" I asked.

"Natalina, it is most important that you tell us everything. We knew that you were protecting something but you didn't tell us what it was." Francis said, coming back over to me. "I know you are doing this so none of us get hurt but you have to tell us if you are holding back information."

"I am holding information back." I said firmly. "Will I tell you? No. I'm only going to cause more war. The second I tell someone is the second my brother has two possible people to go after for the password. You all have more to protect than I ever will. My brother will hurt you."

"He will also hurt you!" Francis sighed. "You're making this difficult!"

"Then do me a favor and get rid of me now!" I yelled, my temper getting to me. "Just end my life and let me drag my password six feet under!"

Francis wrapped his arms around me suddenly. "I won't allow that. Don't you ever say those things to me."

"So what do we do?" I whispered.

"We fight. We will go to war." Francis said. "You know you have some of the strongest militaries in the world ready to fight when you need to. We trust you. Your mother trusted you with the knowledge to rule the world. We trust you to help us fight for it."

"…If he's in Russia, that's where the chip will be." I said. "I want to run one more time. Then we turn around and fight while my brother is busy looking for us."

"I've got just the place, as much as I hate to say it." Francis sighed. "I'm taking you to Arthur's place."

"When she heals." Tino pointed out. "And only then."

"We don't want her to rip open her heart." Mathias said.

"But we're so close!" I growled. "Why stop now?"

"Because no one expected your heart to rip open, if I might say so." Lucas said, walking into the room. "We will keep watch. Both you and Francis need rest."

"Always the one with the plan, eh Lucas?" Mathias chuckled.

"Always the one with a brain." Lucas said.

"Oooookaaaayy!" Tino said. "Sleep time! Goodnight everyone!" Tino pushed everyone out of the room, leaving me with Francis.

"How is Antonio?" I asked in a small voice.

"He's fine." Francis said.

"I'm so, so sorry for…for…" You broke down into tears as I thought about Aurora. "A-About Aurora." I sobbed. "I didn't mean to have her die that way. I am so, so-"

"Die? Non, she never died." Francis said. My head shot up.

"What?"

"She never died." Francis restated.

"But…you said on the phone that you were burying someone." I said.

"_Oui._ One of Antonio's horses. It died of old age a few days ago and the workers were burying the horse. They needed help so I lent a hand." Francis chuckled. "You worry too much, Natalina."

I sighed and sat back on the couch. "No wonder my heart ripped open." I sighed.

"Keep it calm, ok?" Francis said.

"I will." I said. "I'll try."

Francis started petting my head. "Get some sleep, _mon cher_." He whispered.

"Where are you going to be?" I asked.

"I'll sleep over there." He nodded at an armchair in the living room. "You'll be safe. Just get some rest."

I nodded and curled up.

…

"_Slow down!" My brother yelled. _

"_You're too slow." I laughed. _

_I was about 10 years old. My brother was 13. We were walking in a forest in South Carolina. _

"_Nattie, be nice to your brother." My father called from down the trail. _

_I giggled and my brother glared at me. _

"_Hurry up!" I said. "I want to see Mom!" _

"_We'll get there soon enough, Natalina." My father patted me on the back. "Be patient." _

"_When in her life has Nat ever been patient?" My brother said, pushing his glasses up his nose again. _

"_Don't talk to a lady like that." My father said in his gruff but kind voice. He patted my brother on the head and slung the picnic bag over his shoulder. _

_The trees parted and I saw a beautiful field full of lilies. On a hill in the distance, I could see a cherry tree, in full spring bloom. There was a figure under the tree and I started to run towards it. I stopped when I realized I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was myself, 20 years old. I turned to see my brother aged too. He had both his eyes and his hair was tousled, just like what he looked like before he left of college. My father stayed young, though. _

"_Aren't you guys coming?" I said. _

"_Nah, you go Nat." My brother said. "I'll stay here." _

_I nodded and started walking across the field. That's when I heard it. One voice. _

"_You look nice tonight, Miss Ayers." It was a male voice._

_I jumped and turned to find where the voice was from. My stomach dropped and my hands were beyond clammy. Then I heard another voice. It was distant and I knew where this voice came from. The tree. _

"_Nattie!" The other voice called. _

_I gave one more look around the field before I tried to run up the hill, trying to get away from that male voice. _

"_Hey, do you want something to drink?... Ok, I'll wait until the waiter comes around again. …Me? Nah, I brought my own stuff." _

_I jumped at the male voice again. I got to the base of the hill and started to make my way up it. _

"_For God's sake, it's lot like I'm going to get caught! Besides, it gives me a little liquid courage for being around pretty girls like you, hehe." _

_I covered my ears and started to slip down the steep hill without the help of my hands steadying me on my climb. I uncovered them and heard no sound. I continued up my climb. I was almost there. _

"_Let's just go." The male voice said. It was almost a growl. "Just go." _

_I smiled to myself. It was a bitter smile. I knew this part by heart. "But we didn't even have dessert." I whispered. _

_I continued my climb, feeling like I was weakened by the voice of that man. It was harder to reach the top. I tried five times but every time I tried, I just slipped down and had to try again. _

"_We're going. Now." The other voice said. _

"_But I don't want to." I talked back to the voice. _

"_Just get in the car. Now!" The voice yelled. _

_I turned towards the empty blue sky, not a cloud is sight. "Get your hands off of me!" I yelled. _

"_Get in the car!" The voice screamed at me. _

"_No!" I screamed back. I snapped out of my conversation with the person that was not there. I sat back on the hill. Damn. I slipped down again. _

_I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Need a hand?" Someone asked. _

_I turned to see my mom, wearing a bright white sundress and a large straw sunhat. She had her kind smile on her face and one of her hands was outstretched towards me. _

_I grabbed it and she helped to pull me up the hill. _

"_How are you Nattie?" She smiled. We walked to the tree. Under it, was my mother's gravestone. My mother sat on top of it and I sat at the base of the tree. _

"_Confused." I sighed. _

"_Why?" My mother asked. The way she said it made me aware that she already knew the answer. _

"_Why is his voice…here?" I asked. _

"_Because, my dearest daughter," My mother said. "You know that it's still here." She leaned towards me and poked me in the chest. "In your heart." She leaned back again. "You were never able to let go, could you?" _

"_No." I said. "Because I thought I'd be able to fight him." _

"_Because your father was drunk a lot too." My mother said. _

"_I thought, maybe, I'd be able to run, or reason with him like I did with my father. I've never seen such an angry drunk." I said. _

"_You still want to be a fighter." My mother said. She chuckled. "Stubborn as always." _

_I smiled to myself. "Yeah. I guess I am stubborn." _

"_I think those men like that about you." My mother said. I blushed dark red. _

"_Mom!" I scolded. My mother laughed. _

"_Come on, Natalina! Tell me who you like!" _

"_Mom, it's nothing." I said. _

"_Oh, there must be one that you find cute!" She said. "I think that Alfred's pretty sweet." _

"_Mom!" I laughed. _

"_Or how about Ludwig? Now there's a strong young man." She said. _

"_Stop it, you're making me blush!" I said, curling my knees to my chest and burying my face in my knees to hide the red coming off of it. _

"_Or Arthur? What a gentleman." My mother said. _

"_Stop!" I giggled. _

"_Ok, ok." She smiled. "There is something I have to talk to you about." _

"_What?" I asked. _

"_Do you know the house in South Carolina?" She said. "Before you moved to your ranch?" _

"_Yeah. I do." I said. "What about it?" _

"_Do you remember the picture of the beach? Your father took it when we were on our honeymoon. It should be in the kitchen." She said. _

"_I remember." I said. _

_She nodded. "Good." _

"_What about it?" I asked. _

"…_You should learn to follow your dreams, Natalina." She said. _

"_Dreams? Like, going to college to be a writer, like I always wanted, or follow-" I jumped when I heard a low rumble of thunder. I turned to see a storm heading our way across the field. "What's that?" _

_My mother stood up. "A storm is coming, Natalina." _

"_Where's it coming from?" I asked. _

_My mother pointed at my heart again. I looked down to see blood dripping down my shirt from my heart. _

"_Remember: no fighter fights alone." She said. "And remember to let go." I nodded. My mother smiled at me. "Don't run." _

_I nodded once more. My mother walked around the cherry tree. I knew I didn't have to look behind it. She was gone. I leaned against the trunk of the tree and watched the storm move closer to me. _

"_You're mine!" The male voice screamed from the clouds. It was mixed with the low rumble of thunder. _

"_I'm not afraid of you." I whispered. _

_*****Gah, so much writing! I finished up a fic on DeviantArt so now I can concentrate on this one. We're almost done, really…it makes me sad…**_

_**I WAS going to make this a longer chapter, almost combining two into one but I feel like I'm going to be gone for too long if I do that and you guys deserve an update.*****_


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up with a start. I looked around. I was in Mathias' car, in the backseat, laying down. I realized my head was in someone's lap. I turned to look up at Francis. He smiled down at me.

"Good morning." He said.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"England." He said.

"Mathias, she's up." Someone from the front said. I turned to see Mathias driving and Emil sitting in the navigator's seat. He didn't look too happy.

"Why are we not at Mathias' house?" I asked.

"Because your brother found us." Francis said.

"Berwald knocked you out with some drugs before we moved you." Mathias said. "Enjoyed the nap?"

"Loved it." I grumbled. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up.

"Well, we've got a little more time before we reach Arthur's house, so you might as well sit back and enjoy the view." Emil grumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him.

"Oh, Emil's just sore because he didn't get to fight when your brother came by." Mathias said.

"Trust me, it's for the better." I said to Emil. He just sighed and looked out the window.

"So do you know what you want to do once we get to Arthur's house?" Francis asked.

I thought for a moment, leaning back against my seat. "I want you guys to distract Ivan. You don't have to fight him but get him away from my brother. Then I'm going to face my brother alone."

"Aaaaannddd…last time that happened, how'd that shit go down?" Mathias asked.

"Her brother stabbed her in the heart." Francis said in a monotone voice.

"Sounds picture perfect to me." Emil snorted.

"Just trust me guys!" I growled. "If I can play along that I'll follow him and behave myself, at some point he's going to turn his back."

"And why would he turn his back on someone who hates him?" Mathias asked.

"Because…because I don't hate him…" I whispered. "At least, he thinks I don't hate him. I've been too much of a coward to stand up to him on my own. Every good chance I've had to kill him, I've passed it up. So he won't expect me to attack him."

"And how are you going to attack him?" Emil asked.

"I'll find something. Before he finds me." I said. "A knife or something."

"It might be a while before they show up." Mathias said. "We've got time to prepare."

Francis nodded. "Think this through, ok? Please? For us?"

"Of course." I said.

Francis nodded slowly.  
>"Hey, I'd hate to crash this little tight group we've formed but we're at Arthur's house." Mathis said.<p>

We all got out of the car and, against my will, I was carried to the door because of my medical condition. I sulked all the way up to the front door in the arms of Mathias. Francis knocked on the door and a maid who gave a small bow and welcomed us in met us.

She ran off to find Arthur. I coughed a little bit and leaned against Mathias' shoulder. Arthur followed the maid to the door, carrying a book.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Arthur said. "Please, follow me."

We followed him until we were in the living room of his large house.

"You can lay her down there." Arthur pointed the couch to Mathis. "What happened to you?" Arthur asked, kneeling down next to me as I was laid out on the couch.

"My heart is ripping apart." I groaned as Mathias put me on the couch.

"Jesus…" Arthur muttered. "Can I get you anything?"

"A new heart?" I chuckled. "No…thanks."

Arthur stood up and beckoned for everyone to sit down. After everyone was seated, Arthur sat down himself. "I thought it would take you longer to get here."

"We've managed to hold her brother off for a while." Francis said. "But he'll be back soon, so we need your help."

…

After a long talk about what my plan was, Arthur agreed to stop my brother once he found us. He didn't agree, however, to the way I was going to face my brother alone. So, to keep everyone happy, I was going to wear a wire when my brother showed up. If anything happened, Arthur's soldiers that he was hiring would know.

Arthur showed Francis, Emil and Mathias to their rooms for the night. I sat up on the couch and stared into space before Arthur came back. When he did, I stood up on my own, only for Arthur to rush over to me.

"I'm fine." I sighed. "Really."

"Nonsense." Arthur said. "You need help."

"…Fine." I sighed. I went to lean on Arthur but he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and put his other arm under my knees, picking me up princess style.

"You don't have to-" I started.

"Oh, stop." Arthur chuckled. "It's alright. You're hurt."

"I should feel better by the morning." I said.

"That's good to hear." Arthur said, opening the door to my new room. He put me on the soft bed and took off my shoes and socks. "Would you like to get changed, love, or are you fine like this?"

"I think I'm fine." I said. "I just want to rest for a bit."

"Alright." Arthur said. He brushed the hair out of my face. "Sleep well." He said. As he left for the door, Arthur turned and said: "You know…I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." I sighed. "Me too."

…

I fell asleep and was knocked out until 10 the next morning. When I stood up, I was feeling much better. I could walk on my own and after stretching a bit, I was even able to jog slowly. I went downstairs and found everyone gathered around Arthur's dining room table for breakfast.

Arthur stood up and came to my side to help me but I waved him off and sat down.

"There's a Russian car in France right now, heading for England." Francis said.

"My brother." I nodded.

"We're waiting for him." Arthur said. "We will finally put him away. I've got my soldiers outside right now. More are on the way."

"Can I stay?" Emil begged Mathias.

"Yes." Mathias said, a small smile on his face.

Emil gave a small fist pump and a smile. Arthur sat besides me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"We will end this." Arthur said.

I nodded.

…

Everyone mostly spent the day wandering around Arthur's house. The plan was solid and foolproof so there was nothing to adjust. I found myself standing in a familiar room in the late afternoon.

The room was huge. The front wall was one big window that looked out over the estate. Along the back wall was a small stove, a fridge and some cabinets. The room could have fit several cafeteria tables but there was only a small table off to one side.

I gave a small smile as I looked out the window. What a hell of a ride from where this all started. I gave a small jump when I felt two arms wrap around me.

"What are you thinking?" Arthur whispered into my ear.

I closed my eyes and smiled. "About how this all started."

Arthur gave a soft "Hm" as a reply. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm a lot better. Remember, I did all of this with a piece of metal in my heart so this really isn't anything compared to that." I said.

"Don't pressure yourself too much, alright?" Arthur said.

I nodded. I felt a hand on my chin and I turned to be met with Arthur's lips.

I closed my eyes.

I was underwater again.

Arthur turned me towards him and held my waist. We parted from the kiss and I looked up into Arthur's deep green eyes.

"I can't." I whispered. "I can't do this."

"Why not?" Arthur asked.

"Because I need to focus on my brother before I think about my feelings for others." I said, backing up.

Arthur gave me a hug. "I understand." He whispered.

…

The day trickled away slowly. Everyone sat down and watched the soccer (or football) game after dinner. I decided that I would like some rest so I went upstairs to read. As I flipped the page of the book, I heard a sound from downstairs. It was someone talking. I got out of bed and put my ear to the door.

"Sir, the Russian car is ten miles away." A soldier said. "And they are heading here fast."

_*****Wow. Near the ending…so close… Anyways, school is starting up again and I'd like to wrap this story up before school starts. Yet again, it would be a GREAT help to me if you guys could answer the "xNatalina" poll on my page. It's important to the story if you answer the poll. Thank you!*****_


	15. Chapter 15

"You are going to do fine." Arthur said, rubbing my shoulder. "You will be alright."

"I know." I whispered. It was all my voice was capable of.

"I'll be with you, through this." Arthur said, putting the small mic on my shirt. "If you are in trouble, I'll know."

"Thank you." I whispered.

So this was it. We'd take him by surprise, just like we wanted. Maybe we didn't nip this in the bud but the buck stops here. Double points for two metaphors in one sentence. I would kill my own brother. The young man I grew to admire but failed me in the worse way possible. I felt my hands get clammy.

"Ican'tdothis." I quickly said.

Emil raised his hand. "I will!"

"No." Everyone was quick to say. Emil gave a small pout.

Francis kissed me on the top of my head. "You'll do fine. Just don't think about it."

"If we can chase Ivan away, we'll come back and help you." Mathias said.

I nodded my head again.

"Sir! They're here!" One of Arthur's guards said.

"You'll do fine." Arthur whispered to me.

The soldier led me to a living room near the front door. He asked me to sit down, like we planned. I could feel the cold metal of a small revolver against my leg, hidden by the white fabric of the nightgown I was wearing.

I closed my eyes and listened to the voices of Arthur, Francis and Mathias over the earpiece.

"Just like you said, Ivan is heading over this way." Arthur said. "I don't see your brother."

"He's around." I said.

"I am." A smooth voice chuckled from behind me.

I gave a small gasp.

"Easy, Natalina, easy." Francis whispered into the earpiece.

"Good to see you, Bradley." I said.

"Nice to see you too." The man sat down next to me on the couch. "I'll take it you knew I was coming?"

"Yes. I want to...I want to stop this." I said.

My older brother gave another dark chuckle. I finally turned to look at his face. His face was leathery and a black eyepatch covered his missing eye.

"You've been drinking." I stated.

"I know I have. Anyways, what's this about ending something?" Bradley said. My heart broke at the fact that he was so open about it.

"I don't want to be chased anymore." I said. "I...I want to end this now."

"So you give up after all that you've been through? After all that you did to me and others?" Brad said.

"It didn't work." I said. "I can't hold to this pressure any longer."

The metal of the gun brushed against my leg. I closed my eyes. _Not yet_.

"So what are you going to do?" My brother asked.

"What you want me to do." I said.

Brad smiled. I could see spots of yellow on his teeth. Alcohol spots.

"Ok, we're getting Ivan! Get your brother out of there." Arthur said through the earpiece.

"I'll give you the password." I said quickly. Damn. Too fast. What if he found out?

"That easily?" Brad raised an eyebrow. "That's not like you."

The earpiece buzzed and I jumped. Fortunately, the fireplace logs popped at the same time so I made it seem like that's the reason I jumped. Something in the ear piece disconnected the group from me. I just hoped they were alright.

"On one condition: you take me somewhere where none of my friends can be hurt." I said. "I don't want them involved."

"Your wish will be granted." Bradley gave a strained smile. "Anything else you need to tell me?"

I shook my head.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Really?" Brad snapped his fingers and there was a scuffling sound from behind him. I stood up as four Russian soldiers dragged in the countries that were protecting me. I gulped the lump in my throat as I watched them be forced to kneel on the ground. They all looked terrible.

"I'm sorry for this to be so cliché this many times sister; it's your information of their lives." Bradley yawned. "And make it fast. I'm getting tired."

I felt my throat get tight. I looked at Arthur, who had a bruise on his neck and a bleeding arm.

He gave me a weak smile. "I thought you'd be gone by now."

I tried to run over to Mathias, Francis, Emil and Arthur but a soon as I took a step, one of the Russian soldiers grabbed Arthur by his hair and another soldier put a gun under Arthur's chin. I covered my mouth and stopped in my tracks.

"Don't waste my time, Nat." Brad growled.

"He can't kill us. Don't believe him." Francis said.

"I can't let you hurt them!" I yelled.

Brad snapped his fingers and Ivan emerged from the shadows. In one swift moment, Ivan was standing in front of Mathias. One strike across the face and Mathias was on the ground. I wanted to run to them but Ivan strode across the room and grabbed my arm.

"It's ok, Natalina." Mathias gasped, trying to get up, only to have his hands behind his back again by the guards and forced to the ground. "They can't kill me."

"Oh, Nattie knows that." Bradley smiled and walked over to where I stood, wrapping an arm around me while I winced at his touch. Ivan let go of my arm to stand near the soldiers. "It's just that she can't handle anyone in pain, isn't that right little sister? So, she won't pull anything on me if you are going to get hurt."

His one good eye glared down at me. I knew that this was the end. I couldn't stand to watch my friends get hurt. I turned to Bradley with defeat in my eyes.

_Follow your dreams. _A familiar voice whispered in my mind.

I gave a sad smile. "Do you remember the old house in South Carolina?" I quietly asked.

"I sure do." Bradley said.

"No!" Emil yelled out. A Russian guard hit him across the face and Emil growled in pain.

'Take me there." I said. "To that house."

"Natalina don't do this." Francis warned. "You can still fight!"

I walked over to them. The guards were about to fight me but Bradley waved them off. I knelt in front of Francis.

"I know I can." I whispered. "Thank you for helping me."

I have Francis a hug, followed by a pitiful goodbye to Arthur and Mathias. The last one was Emil. I hugged him and whispered in his ear. "South Carolina. Near the water in a small town in the north. Two days. Be there." Emil grew stiff as I gave him the important instructions.

I stood up as the group looked at me with horror, as if I'd really and truly give away the world. My brother took my hand in his.

"Let's go." My brother said.

I smiled at the group and reached out my hand towards them. The Russian soldiers pushed them to the ground and followed me out the door.

_So, Miss Queen of the World, what next? _I asked myself.

_Easy. Find out what my mother is hiding. _

...

To say the least, this was the worst day of my life.

I was sitting in the back on an army truck with an evil Russian man that personified the whole country and five Russian soldiers with guns trained on me.

I was curled up with my knees to my chin on the bench of the truck. Ivan sat across from me.

As a safety measure, my brother made sure I was knocked out for the plane ride back to South Carolina. Now that I was awake, my brother shoved me in the back of a truck so I wouldn't escape and started off for our old home with six Russians in tow.

I prayed that Emil would understand what I was saying. I put my faith into the younger man because no one would expect him to be the one to carry that info. He wouldn't be in danger. I closed my eyes. _Please. Please understand. _I begged so many people in my mind. I knew I couldn't lie to my brother anymore. I had to give him the truth and I knew the truth was somewhere in the old house in South Carolina. I knew Brad could see that in my eyes.

"So, talk to me, Natalina!" Ivan chuckled. "You are quiet all the time, da?"

I opened my eyes and slowly looked up at Ivan. I felt like I was going to throw up. His face was cheery and his violet eyes shined but the history of this man terrified me. I just looked at him.

"If I talked to you, the overwhelming urge to murder you would be a very probable possibility." I growled.

"Why do you feel that way, Natalina?" Ivan asked, the way my name rolled off of his tongue in his thick Russian accent made me shiver.

"You killed my own mother!" I yelled bolting from my seat. "And then you sided with my own brother against me. What part of 'I hate you' do you not underst-"

I grunted in pain as the butt of a gun hit the side of my head. I gripped my hair in pain and turned towards the guard that hit me. Ivan waved the man away and said something in Russian that made the guard back down.

"Maybe it is not best of timing but I wasn't the one behind your mother's death." Ivan said.

"You didn't kill her?" I asked, turning to face Ivan.

"Well, I did but I was not the one behind it." Ivan said. "I was carrying out orders."

"…What were your orders?" I asked.

"To kill one of the world's most powerful women." Ivan said.

"But she never wanted power!" I said. "She just wanted to share the deep love for history with other people-"

"She carried her research too far." Ivan said. "She knew she became wanted for her information."

I paused. "…maybe." I said, giving a soft laugh. I sat back down again.

I heard Ivan stand up and cross the van, coming over to me.

"Don't be sad." Ivan said. "I know this is the worst of timing but maybe you will forgive me someday."

"I don't know if I could ever forgive you for your actions but your words are comforting in a really strange way." I said.

"Perhaps we could become friends some day!" Ivan said.

Another shiver ran down my spine. "Yeah, um…maybe." I said. Hey, it was better than the possible consequences if I said: "No! Get away you monster creep!"

There was another silence. Ivan started humming something and my ears picked up the song. Ivan smiled as my eyes lit up, although I tried to hide it.

"Tchaikovsky Waltz of the Snowflakes. You know the piece?" Ivan asked.

"I danced when I was younger." I said in a small voice. It was one of my last happy memories. It was right after my mother died and my father was trying to hold together the pieces of his life and losing to alcohol. He would take me to the dance studio and go do something while I danced and then pick me up afterwards with Bradley in tow. I never stayed with ballet for long and quit when I was in high school."

"Wonderful! How long did you dance?" Ivan asked.

"Why do you care!" I snapped.

"Because I want to talk to you." Ivan gave another chilling smile.

"…since I was five." I said. "Nothing big. It was a small studio and the recitals were right below the value of school plays as far as set up."

"When did you stop?" Ivan asked.

"…high school." I said after a very long pause. "That's when my father's drinking was at it's worst. I quit to help him at home."

"It is great to see we share something, da?" Ivan said.

"I, uh, guess." I said. _Will not lash out will not lash out will not lash out._

"I hope that you can forgive me someday." Ivan said in a soft voice.

"Well, you really don't know about me." I sighed.

"You're right. I don't know much about you. I have a question about something your brother said." Ivan asked.

"What?"

"It's about something that he said at Antonio's house." Ivan said.

"Don't go there." I growled.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it."

"Your brother said it was what made you who you are today-"

"I didn't see it coming alright?!" I suddenly yelled.

Ivan's eye glittered as I blew up. "What was it?"

"How was I supposed to know?" I yelled. "My brother set me up on the date! I was 17 for Christ's sake! Bradley was dating his sister and I thought it was safe!" I took a deep breath and clamped my mouth shut.

"He did something terrible to you." Ivan said.

"Almost." I whispered after my outburst. "He was drunk; brought his own alcohol to our date. I didn't think he would act like that. So angry… I barely made it out whole; or alive."

"So that is why you don't trust people." Ivan said.

"Maybe." I shrugged. "I just don't know _who_ to trust anymore. I feel like someone's going to lash out at me."

"Or the chip." Ivan commented.

"All the things I was raised with." I said, giving a small sad smile.

The van slowed to a stop. Ivan stood up. "Ah, I see we're here." Ivan said. He came over to me and tilted up my chin to look up at him. "You know, I never got the chance to play that Love Game with everyone else." He chuckled. He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. I was too frozen with fear to react. His lips were as cold as a winter night. He stood up again and the doors to the back of the van were opened.

My mouth dropped at the sight and sounds that greeted us.

The sounds were many guns being loaded and aimed.

The sight was about a dozen soldiers from 13 different countries aiming said guns.


	16. Chapter 16

"Welcome to America." Alfred smirked.

"You really had to say that, didn't you?" Arthur sighed.

"Yeah." Alfred gave a childlike chuckle. "I couldn't help it."

"Let the girl go or we fire." Ludwig said.

"Yeah!" Feli cheered. "We'll fire!"

I was hauled out of the truck by Ivan's guards. I looked around the place. I was outside, by my old house. The soldiers filled my field of vision, with my country friends (including my new Nordic acquaintances), standing closest to Ivan and me. Everyone was holding a gun. I gave a low whistle.

"You guys really outdid yourselves." I said.

"Emil said you needed help." Mathias said.

"I told them to bring guns." Emil said. "I think they overdid it."

My brother walked up behind me and wrapped a hand around my mouth. "You all really overdid it." He said. I felt cold metal on the side of my head and I gulped. So did everyone else.

"If you shoot any of my people I will shoot her." Bradley said.

"But you still need her." Kiku said in his usual monotone voice.

"But none of you want to see her dead so it's a win-win situation for me." Bradley smiled. "You don't shoot and I get the password."

"There will be neither." Alfred said. He raised his gun again. "As the country representative of The United States of America and under one of my rare privileges that should only be saved for times of desperate need, you are under arrest, Mr. Ayers and if you do not come with us, we have permission to shoot you."

My brother moved the small gun to under my chin. "Really Alfred Jones? Do you want to see her die? By the time you take one step forward or fire a gun at me I could take the life from her eyes before you could even blink." My brother smirked.

I could see a lump in Alfred's throat. Arthur closed his eyes and gave a small sigh.

'What do you want?" Arthur asked.

"I want you all to stand aside and let me access my own property." My brother said. "I don't care if you follow us in but I need to get inside that house."

"Won't it all be for nothing?" Yao asked my brother. "The second you let go of your sister is the second we can kill you. All of this work will be for nothing-"

A gunshot rang out and I felt sharp pain in my chin. There was yelling and I gave a short scream to let everyone know I was alive. I heard Ludwig yell at everyone to hold their fire and then there was silence.

My brother had tilted the gun ever so slightly under my chin, making the bullet graze against my skin, a thin line of blood trickling down my neck.

The sudden realization that my life could be ended that moment made the thought of letting my brother pass very real to everyone. Francis told everyone to move to the side and the Russian guards passed by the soldiers on our way into the house.

My brother passed me to Ivan, who put a hand on my shoulder and a gun to my lower back. Bradley waited for some of the countries to enter the small house as well. Alfred pressed something into my hand and mouthed out something that made me confused. _Aim for the arm._ Aim for the arm? If I were going to kill someone wouldn't I aim for the chest? Or head? I felt the item in my hand. A small derringer.

"Come on, Natalina, I haven't got all day." My brother said.

I did my best to tuck away the small gun and follow my brother with Ivan in tow behind me. My brother motioned for everyone to step away except Ivan. I followed him further into the house and Ivan followed a few steps behind.

The house hadn't changed much. It was dusty because my father was in and out of the rehab center so he wasn't always home. The front door was in the living room. A small TV was in a corner of the room while two armchairs and a couch decorated the alcohol stained carpet. There was a staircase by the front door that lead upstairs. If you were to go up there you would find a hallway that ended at a window with a small seat by it. My mother always loved to sit there are read. If you didn't find her cooking some amazing food in the kitchen or working in her office, she was at that window. It was on that little seat that my mother would help me with my homework or tell me a story.

Down the hall were four doors, two on each side. One was an office, one was the door to my brother's room, another was the door to my room and the last door was my parents' room. It was a small house but it was the place that I called home until I was 20.

"Well? Apparently you know what to do." My brother said.

I gulped and started walking towards the kitchen. Was this real? Was I really going to follow some crazy instruction from my mother from beyond the grave? Maybe I was going mental… I walked into the kitchen and looked for the one item that would change everything. That small picture on the wall. I stood in front of it for a tense moment. My brother followed me into the kitchen and stared at the picture.

Nothing happened.

I leaned against the counter opposite the picture while my brother crossed his arms.

"That's it? We came all this way for you to stare at our parents' honeymoon picture?" Bradley asked, a tinge of anger in his voice.

"There's something wrong." I said, looking at the picture. "I just…I can't place my finger on it…"

"You're wasting my time." Brad sighed.

"No, wait." I said. I leaned in close to the picture. "Mom's eyes were green, right Brad?"

"Always have been." Bradley said.

"…her eyes are brown." I said, looking at the little smiling paper version of Vivian Ayers. I leaned in closer to the picture and slowly touched the glossy paper. I jumped back as a high-pitched beep sounded from the picture. I slipped on the floor and fell back on my butt out of shock.

Everyone shifted and started talking in low voices, wondering what happened.

"Touch sensory recognized."

"Natalina? What's going on?" Antonio asked from where everyone stood by the kitchen door.

"I-I don't know…" I whispered.

"Password needed." The picture said.

"Well?" Bradley ordered. "You heard it!"

I closed my eyes. _The chip has another secret. You need a password when you get up to a certain point. I will now trust you with this password. This is in case the chip is ever stolen and you are still alive. The password is the nickname of a wonderful girl that I knew. You should be able to figure it out from there. _

I opened my eyes and stood up again, going to the painting. I licked my dry lips before leaning close to the picture of my mom. I gave a small smile.

"Rebel." I whispered.

"Password recognized." The picture said. The wall started to rumble.

My brother grabbed me and wrapped an arm around my throat, keeping me in place. "If anyone moves, Ivan will kill her." My brother said as Ivan came up to us and put the smooth metal of the gun against my head.

The picture receded into the wall and a small platform rose up from the new alcove. It was a cylinder. Plain and simple. Underneath it was a short letter done in a beautiful cursive that both my brother and I were familiar with. Bradley grabbed the paper.

"To whomever finds this." Bradley read. "Congratulations. The world…must…need you."

There was an awkward silence.

"There will be a time, far from now, when the world will be in chaos. There will be one person that is sane enough to rule the world until things get in order. If this ever happens while you are alive, then that one person is sane enough to have the chip. But it must be worth dying over. Only then can you give the chip to that person." I said softly. Bradley's grip on my throat tightened.

"I don't understand this." He said.

It all connected in my mind as well as I remembered the last letter my mother sent me. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen at all.

"Bradley, that chip is not for you." I whispered.

"What do you mean?" Brad demanded.

"Mom never meant for the chip to fall into your hands…or mine." I said.

"You're not making sense." Bradley growled.

"I was supposed to be willing to kill myself over this information! I'm not supposed to be alive!" I said. "Mother found out that her work could make or break the entire world. I was trusted with this information in case…in case this world needed it. When the world is in chaos."

"No! She made a stupid mistake! She was stupid!" My brother said, rage starting to boil over in his voice.

"She never knew what she was getting into but when she did she tried to fix it." I said. "I needed to be willing to hand over both the password and the chip to someone who could handle the information."

"And let someone rule the world!" Bradley yelled.

"And let someone set it straight!" I yelled back.

Another silence.

"Bradley, no one was supposed to rule the world with this chip." I said in a harsh voice. "How many times do I need to tell you? No one nation or person is supposed to rule the world."

I saw my country friends bent their heads to look at the floor.

"That chip wasn't meant for a powerful person. It was meant for a hero." I said.

Bradley blinked, like this was the first time any of this had crossed his mind. "A…hero?"

"Someone who could take a crumbling world and use that information to stitch it back together. If that meant making a stronger empire, than let it be." I said. "If I ever lived to see this person rise I would need to commit suicide over giving them the information."

Bradley's grip on my throat tightened. "No! I need the chip! I'm the one!"

"None of us are!" I choked out. "Are any of us worthy of this information? Is this the time to save a dying world? No! Bradley, you can't be a hero now-"

"Yes I can!" Bradley yelled. His voice was borderline hysterical. "I need this power!"

"No you don't-" I started.

"I couldn't save you!" Bradley turned me to face him. "I couldn't even save you from my girlfriend's own brother! I couldn't be trusted enough to carry the information of the world the way mom trusted you! I need to be powerful! I want people to honor me!"

"Do you want to be honored or do you want to be feared?" I broke away from my brother.

"I want to be anything better than you!" My brother screamed. I covered my ears. After a tense moment I uncovered my ears. "You…you really think that?" I whispered.

"I want the power to prove to everyone that I'm not weak like you!" My brother screamed.

"I didn't ask for any of this, Brad!" I yelled.

"Ivan!" Bradley snapped his fingers and Ivan grabbed me and put the gun to my head. Everyone yelled. Ivan hesitated.

"Ivan! Kill her!" My brother yelled.

I pulled out the little derringer gun and in a split second made a decision that seemed like the craziest thing I've ever done. I aimed the gun at Alfred, whose crystal eyes lit up as I did so. I closed my eyes and fired. Everyone kept yelling at my sudden move.

The earth shook and Ivan let go of me, putting the gun in his pocket and gave me a quick wink before running out of the house. A split appeared in the ground and I turned to Bradley, who grabbed the little black cylinder and clutched it to his chest. I grabbed his arm.

"We have to get out of here!" I screamed.

"No! The world is mine! You can't do anything to stop me!" Bradley yelled. The ground opened up more.

"You're still my brother!" I yelled.

"I'm the man who will rule the world!" Bradley screamed.

"Please don't do this to me." I said in a shaky voice. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Gilbert.

"C'mon girly, you need to get out of here. Now!" Gilbert said. He pulled me away from my brother.

"Bradley!" I screamed.

Gilbert pulled me away as my brother stood there yelling. The ground split one more time and the house started to fall apart. I covered my head and felt more arms around me as Gilbert and I broke outside. I opened my eyes and saw Ludwig and Kiku helping Gilbert and me along. As soon as we were far enough away from the house, Gilbert and I slowed down and started to pant from the sudden burst of running. I turned around to find my childhood house crumbling to pieces as the earthquake subsided. Part of me wanted to run back inside but I knew it was all for nothing. I stood there and watched as the earthquake stopped and all that was left of my house was a pile of rubble.

There was one more violent shake that almost sent me tumbling and then it was over, followed by a loud voice cursing. I turned and saw Alfred sitting on the edge of an army truck while Berwald attended to his bleeding arm. I ran up to them.

"Alfred, are you ok?" I asked.

Alfred gave one of his usual laughs. "Nice shootin' Tex." He smiled.

I sighed and looked around. Arthur and the British soldiers were hauling off Ivan and the Russian soldiers. Once I made sure everyone was alright I ran back to the remnants of my old house. I tried to kick some of the wood pieces aside and called out: "Bradley!"

"You know it's no use." A voice said.

I jumped and turned to face Tino, who had a sincere smile on his face but worry in his eyes. "You know he's not alive anymore." Tino said.

I looked down at the ground and let tears well up in my eyes. "He said he didn't care about me anymore. What happened to him?"

"Power." Tino said. "It can be addictive."

"It can really turn someone against so many others?" I asked.

"Trust me, our country kind have lived to see some very powerful people take over some powerful places." Tino said.

My knees gave out on my and I fell. "Why? Why did this happen to him?"

Tino knelt down besides me. "It's ok." He said.

"No it's not!" I sobbed. "What happened to the climatic end? Wasn't there supposed to be a big battle where he would turn good? Wasn't my brother supposed to come back to the family that still loved him?"

"Sometimes we never get the good endings." Tino said. "But there is hope now. Your speech inside your house made all of us realize how much we didn't need the power, even Ivan. I don't think a problem over the chip will ever happen again."

I wiped my tears away. "Thank you, Tino…can I be alone for just a moment?"

"Take all the time you need!" Tino said. He got up and walked away.

I knelt on the ground and sighed. "Well Mom? Are you happy now? I stopped the world from ending…" I looked up at the sky. "You're already missed, Bradley."

I looked down at the ground again and saw a little white lily poking up from between the boards of broken wood. I picked the lily. It probably came from the front garden, the place that was now ruined with the wrecked house.

"Thank you Mom." I whispered.

It was there, on the remnants of my old house, that I said a silent requiem for my brother. Not for our relationship but just for the man himself.

…

**That Christmas **

I read over the letter once more, running my hand over the envelope that was richly decorated with stamps to get to my place.

Where was my place? It was a beautiful New York apartment. After my other house burned down my country friends wanted me to be closer to where they were, which meant moving my location to the east coast, where they could visit me more often. The apartment was a good size, with a balcony outside and a fireplace in the living room. I continued reading the letter.

_I hope this gets to you safely. Thank you for making me change my mind. _

That was all the letter read. I knew who sent it and the Russian return address was enough to give it away. I reached into the envelope and pulled out a small computer chip. It must have somewhat broke because it wasn't beeping anymore. I turned it over in my hands. This was the last of what my mother was; the little device that turned my brother against me. I was the one to find the hero of the world and give it to that person. I thought long and hard that Christmas morning and now it was already twilight.

Should I give it to one of my country friends? There must be at least one of them that I knew could keep the information. If they lived longer than me, then they would know when to use this information. I stood up. I knew what I needed to do with this information. I crossed my living room with the chip in my hand.

I gave a light underhand toss and threw the chip into the fire.

My mother never knew that the country representatives were real. She realized what harm could come out of the chip and (in her usual cheery way) she decided to make it for the better and save the chip for when it was needed. But this world didn't need it. I smiled to myself. If all of the country representatives were still around when the world was in danger, I had no doubt that the world would be safe not long after, chip or no chip. What was I going to do? Pass it down to my children so they would feel just as panicked? Should I let my children suffer like I did? My mother never knew how much danger came out of this little chip. No. This was for the better. No one needed the pain that was caused by this chip, important information or not. I knew my mother would understand.

I never found out what that black cylinder did. It perished with my brother, which I'm sure was for the better. If it had something to do with the chip, then it had to be destroyed before something terrible happened again.

I covered the melting chip with the burning embers of the fire. I jumped when there was a loud knocking at my door. I ran over to it and opened the door, to have Alfred, Mathias, Gilbert and Feli attack me with one giant hug.

"Merry Christmas, guys!" I laughed. Ludwig hooked his arms under Gilbert's arm and Feli's arm and pulled them off while Berwald did the same with the other two.

"Merry Christmas *hic* girly!" Gilbert yelled.

I giggled and got off the floor. "Already drunk?"

"Buzzed." Ludwig said.

"Merry Christmas dudette!" Alfred yelled.

"Alfred, calm yourself." Arthur said. "There are people in the other apartments." Arthur came up to me and gave me a kiss on my hand. "Merry Christmas, love." He said softly, handing me a medium sized gift.

I smiled and lead the whole gang through the house. I handed a gift to Arthur from under the Christmas tree I had. "Merry Christmas!" I said. "Please, everyone, make yourselves comfortable!"

"Gracias, chica." Antonio said, sitting down next to Francis.

We had a small dinner followed by opening gifts. I got a month's worth of pasta mix for my pasta mixer from Feli. Ludwig gave me a wood figure. Gilbert gave me a drink tumbler. Francis gave me a beautiful French dress. Lovino gave me a glass ornament that was made in Italy. Alfred got me a copy of a game called "Portal". Arthur gave me a beautiful teapot that matched the teacup he gave me for my last birthday. Antonio got me a little glass guitar. Kiku got me a kimono and matching hair piece. Yao got me a little Chinese zodiac ornament. All the Nordics got me a snowglobe. I gave them my gifts, which included a new game controller for Alfred (I heard that he threw his out the window in anger at a hard level) and a Santa figurine for Tino. Everyone exchanged gifts and there was merriment everywhere.

Someone knocked on the door and ran to it, opening it to see my father and his new fiancé walk in.

"Dad! Arlene! It's so good to see the two of you." I said, hugging both of them.

Arlene smiled from her Barbie lips and flipped her curly blonde hair. "You are such a cutie, Natalina."

"Please, call me Nattie." I said.

"Ok, Nattie." Arlene chuckled.

I walked them inside the house and they sat down with all of my friends. I gave my father and Arlene my gifts to them and once again, everyone traded gifts with each other.

"Hey!" Feli cheered, crawling on the floor to the Christmas tree. "There's one more for you, Natalina! It's from…" Feli looked at the box. "Ooh! A Secret Santa gift! Lucky girl! Open it!"

I took the box from Feli and opened it up. I smiled at the little gift in my hands. "Thank you Santa." I giggled, looking at it.

_***** EDIT: AUGH! Why wouldn't this stupid chapter upload?! I'm sorry for any problems that this chapter caused people… said the link is not working and I tried THREE TIMES to fix the problem. Like I said, I'm sorry…EDIT EDIT: *Rage quits* YOU STUPID PEICE OF– Oh hi! I didn't see you there! Haha! Anyways, I have tried uploading, moving, fixing, breaking and changing my story and it was STILL giving me problems. If this chapter ever gets to you, consider yourself lucky. Anyways:  
>Wham! Author interruption! This is the part where your votes on my poll come in! As of 29/13, the polls are closed. I am going to take the top three pairings and make them three separate endings. Everyone was asking me whom Natalina would end up with and I was having a terrible time deciding. So, to make the fangirls happy, get ready for the new endings! **_

_**If anyone is confused about why Natalina shot Alfred, it's because the country representatives can affect their country and visa versa, just like how Yao put a split in the courtyard in Chapter 8. **_

_**Thank you all for staying with this story for as long as it ran. You guys don't know how much this means to me. You guys REALLY don't know what you've done for me just by reading the story. I might say something about it once the endings are done. Thank you all!**_

_**One more thing before I go: I'll be having an "Ask Author" on DeviantArt after I officially close TMTIAL. You guys can ask me anything! I love to talk and I know some writers that say they should be gods to their fans. I'm not like that. I like to talk and help people! I will post a deviation saying that the ask is open. So after this story is done, go check out HorseandWolfLover93 on DeviantArt!*** **_


	17. Pocket watch

ArthurxNatalina 1/3 endings

I turned the small pocket watch in my hands. It had a chain to be worn around the neck. On the outside was a flower made out of beautiful crystals. I opened it up and the small watch ticked at the correct time, which meant it was recently wrapped and since there were no fingerprints or smudges it was recently polished. On the opposite side of the clock, there was an engraving.

_Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service – The Tempest, Act 3, Scene 1, William Shakespeare _

I felt a blush wash over my face. It didn't take a genius to know who was the Secret Santa was. "Thank you, Santa." I said out loud. Italy grabbed the watch.

"Ooh~! So pretty!" Italy cooed. "Thank you Santa!"

"Italy, the watch is hers." Ludwig rubbed his head. "Give it back to her."

I took the watch and put it around my neck. "Well, shall I pass around the wine?" I asked.

The party continued with another light meal after the gift giving. My father and Arlene were the first to leave because they needed to get to their hotel room. Slowly, everyone left my new apartment to go to hotels or back to their own countries.

I plopped down on the couch and sighed, turning on the radio. I gave a smile as I thought about the evening. It was great to be around friends and family. I jumped as there was a knock on the door. I got up and opened it.

"I'm terribly sorry, I forgot my hat." Arthur rushed, his face pink from the cold outside.

"Hey, no problem, come right in, Santa." I said in a similar rushed voice as Arthur hurried inside. He froze halfway to the living room as he finally realized what I said.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered, turning around.

I felt the pocket watch around my neck. "I know you're the one who gave this to me." I said.

Arthur looked down at his feet. "Damn. I thought you wouldn't find out… What gave it away?"

"Really?" I giggled. "Do you really think Alfred's the one to quote Shakespeare?"

"I guess you're right." Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just…you know…" He turned around and tried to hide his last words. "I wanted to say something that I really felt about you."  
>"You are too kind, Arthur." I said.<p>

"Th-Thank you." Arthur said. "I just…" He sighed and looked at me. "I love you."

"I…I love you too." I whispered.

Arthur leaned down and gave me a kiss. It was just like I remembered. Gentle and soft but with a feeling like being underwater. After we parted, Arthur touched the watch around my neck.

"It looks so beautiful on you." Arthur said.

"Thank you." I said.

The radio switched tunes to a slow but cheerful song. Arthur held out his hand. "Care for a dance?" He chuckled.

"It sounds perfect to me." I smiled.

Arthur wrapped an arm around my waist and started to sway to the music. I put my head against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat as the music played.

"Please stay with me." Arthur whispered.

"I wouldn't go anywhere." I said.

"Good. That's good." Arthur said.


	18. Teddy Bear

LudwigxNatalina ending 2/3

I ran my fingers across the soft fur of the teddy bear. It was holding a little stuffed heart. The fur was slightly curly and two buttons were the eyes. The nose was sewn.

"Thank you Santa." I said. I smiled and hugged the animal and put it on the mantle of the fireplace. Italy ran over to it.

"Hey! Those look like the teddy bears that Ludwig-"

Ludwig cleared his throat and Feli froze. "Oh, haha! Did I say Ludwig? I meant-"

"Italy. Stop." Ludwig said. I turned to face the German and found him hiding his mouth and nose with his hand, the blush still visible in his neck and ears even though he tried to cover it up with his hand.

I stood up, smiling as I found my Santa. "Well, how about some food and drink?"

"More beer!" Gilbert said, high-fiving Mathias, who was also getting tipsy.

…

The party was started to wrap up and as soon as the clock hit 9:00, Ludwig stood up. "I have to go." He said.

Before I could even turn my head from my conversation with Arthur and Alfred, Ludwig was already out the door.

"Wait!" I called. I excused myself from the party and went to follow Ludwig.

Feli grabbed my hand. "He really likes you!" He whispered before letting me go.

I nodded at Feli and ran after Ludwig. I found him in the parking lot, walking towards his car at a fast pace.

"Ludwig!" I called.

He turned around. "Natalina? What are you doing out here? Without a jacket?"

I ran up to him and hugged him. "I wanted to thank you for coming all the way out here for this party. You really didn't have to."

"Well, the nations always have some sort of party, so it's really not that bad-"

"And thank you for the bear." I said.

"How did you know I gave it to you?" Ludwig quickly said.

"Why are you so nervous?" I giggled. "Thank you, Santa."

Ludwig gave a sheepish smile and looked down at the ground, playing with some of the snow at his feet with the heel of his shoe. "I made it."

"The bear?" I asked. Ludwig nodded. "Ludwig, you are too sweet!" I said, hugging him.

"Natalina…" Ludwig hesitenly said. His voice was somewhere between a question and a statement, as if he wasn't sure which voice tone to take.

"What?" I asked, looking up at the tall German. My eyes went wide when Ludwig crashed his lips onto mine. He wrapped his arms around me in a protective manner, keeping me close to his body.

When we parted, Ludwig looked down at the ground again, trying not to make eye contact with me. "I'm sorry. I don't really know what that was. I'll just leave now-"

"Are you staying at a hotel?" I asked.

"I am." Ludwig said.

"You know, in the morning, I know a few places around here that have some really great breakfasts, if you'd…like to...I don't know, maybe…join me?" I asked in a nervous voice. Would this be alright with the strict German? Maybe breakfast wasn't a good idea-

"Really?" Ludwig asked. He seemed surprised.

"I mean, only if you want to." I said.

Ludwig cupped my cheek with his strong hand, which was clad with a wool glove. "I would love that." Ludwig said in a soft voice.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

"Hm." Ludwig simply hummed before kissing me again. His lips contradicted everything about that man. They were soft and gentle. I gave a small shiver from both the feeling of Ludwig so close to me as well as the cold, which was starting to hit me. When we parted lips again, Ludwig took off his wool jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. "I don't want you getting sick." Ludwig said in a stern voice. His eyes softened. "I care too much about you to see you suffer."

"I'm fine!" I smiled. "Really, I can take care of myself- oof!" Ludwig violently threw me against his chest, wrapping his arms around my upper torso.

"Please." He said in his stern voice. "You are like an iron-winged butterfly. You are so strong and flying around above everyone else but please, I don't want you to get hurt. No one is invincible. Not even people like me, who are countries in human form." I smiled into Ludwig's chest.

"Thank you." I said. "And thank you for the jacket. Are you sure you're not going to get cold?"

Ludwig pulled away from me. "No, I won't. I'll just turn on the heat in my car. I'll be on my way."

"I'll see you tomorrow!" I said as Ludwig got into his car.

"Ja! I'll see you tomorrow!" Ludwig started up his car and I wrapped his jacket closer to me as I watched him drive away.

…PREGGORZ.


	19. Cameo

AlfredxNatalina ending 3/3

I looked at the cameo necklace in my hands. It was beautiful but I was truly confused about who gave it to me. No one seemed guilty of giving me the gift. I put the necklace on and admired the beauty of it in the firelight. I stood up and smiled. "Can I get anyone anything to drink?" I asked.

…

The party was amazing. It was good to see my friends. It wrapped up about 10, which was actually early compared to the family next to me, who were still opening up presents.

The countries slowly left to get to apartments or planes. Alfred ended up staying later than everyone else.

"I mean, really, you'd think that they'd do something about the stinking streets!" Alfred said as he sat on my couch while I cleaned up some plates.

"Yeah, yeah." I laughed. "Stop complaining and change the stupid tires, lazy! Here, put these in my kitchen. I'll wash them tomorrow." I yawned as Alfred made his way into the kitchen with the dishes. "Man, that party took a lot out of me! We did nothing but talk!"

Alfred sat down besides me. "What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"Go to bed!" I sighed. "I'm tired!"

"You can't do that!" Alfred said, grabbing my hand. "It's only 10 o'clock!"

"It's late, Alfred!" I said.

"C'mon, have you ever been to Central Park at this hour? It's so cool, dude!" Alfred pulled me to the door.

"Alfred, have you ever seen the crime at this hour?" I said.

Alfred turned to me with his bright blue eyes and one of his famous smiles. "Nah, nothing will hurt you! I'll be here!"

I frowned. "I don't know, Alfred…"

He squeezed my hand. "Plleeeeeeaaaasseeee?" He begged, giving small jumps up and down like a little kid. I gave a small laugh.

"Fine, fine." I said. "But if we get mugged I'm blaming you."

Alfed grabbed me in a bear hug. "You wont get hurt!" He threw my coat to me and raced me to the stairs.

…

"Alfred, it's beautiful!" I gasped as he uncovered my eyes. As soon as we got close to the park, Alfred insisted I closed my eyes until I was at the spot he wanted me to be at. When I opened my eyes, we were standing on a bridge. Snow was covering the trees and ice glistened off of the frozen stream underneath us.

"Isn't it?" Alfred smiled. He leaned against the railing of the bridge and I joined him. "I love walking around this area at night."

"I think I'll have to remember to do the same." I said.

"Not without someone else." Alfred said in a firm voice.

I was taken aback from Alfred's voice. I turned to look at him and his blue eyes were serious about what he said. I smiled at Alfred to calm him. "I won't. I'll make sure someone else is with me." Alfred nodded. He turned away from me and I got worried.

"Al? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Well, it's just…" Alfred whipped around and threw a snowball at my chest. I gave a small shriek and looked up at Alfred, who was laughing and backing up.

I scooped up some snow from the ground. Alfred gave me a serious warning before I threw it at him. It hit him in the face and he slipped on some ice, falling into a pile of snow.

"I'm getting you for that!" Alfred said, getting up and dusting himself off and shaking the snow off of his glasses. I yelled and ran away as Alfred chased me. I felt a snowball hit my back and I stopped to make one myself, throwing it blindly over my shoulder.

"Missed!" Alfred teased. We ran through the park, throwing snowballs at each other. I felt a pair of arms circle around my waist and pull me down to the ground.

"No!" I yelled. I tried to struggle out of Alfred's arms but it was useless. I stopped struggling and turned to face the sky. It was a clear night but the sky was empty of stars because of the city lights.

"Do you miss the stars in the cities?" I asked Alfred.

"Sometimes I do." I felt him play with a bit of my hair. "But I've got my own star in New York."

"Hm?" I turned my head to face Alfred.

"You." Alfred said. He leaned in and kissed me. When we parted lips, Alfred smiled at me. "And I know that star will never stop shining."

"Alfred Jones, you are too much." I blushed. "Thank you."

"I love you." Alfred whispered.

I turned to face him. "I love you too." I said.

"You do?" Alfred beamed. "Good! Now I can tell you that I was the Secret Santa!"

"What? Alfred, isn't the Secret Santa thing all about it being a secret?" I laughed.

"Nuh-uh! I promised myself that I'd tell you I was the Santa if you said 'I love you'!" Alfred argued, sitting up in the snow. I sat up as well.

"So you gave me the necklace?" I asked. "How did you get this?" I touched the necklace around my neck.

Alfred shrugged. "It was just something I got from the Revolutionary War."

My jaw dropped. "Revolutionary War? This should be in a museum, not around my neck!"

"But you do that necklace more justice than any display case ever could!" Alfred said. He looked at me from over his glasses. "As the country of America, don't you think I'd know what to put in a museum?"

I gave a small smile. "Thank you Alfred."

"No problem babe!" Alfred said. He pulled me into a warm hug. I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat.

"Antonio told me about something that happened to you." Alfred said. "Something bad."

I stiffened. Alfred hugged me tighter.

"And I wanna let you know that I'd never let that happen to you again." Alfred buried his nose in my hair. "Because I really like you. And I'd kill myself if I let anything happen to you."

"You don't' know how much that means to me, Alfred." I said. "I just really need someone to tell me it's ok to relax."

"Well, relax." Alfred said. "I'm here."

I nodded and buried my head further into Alfred's chest. We sat in the snow of Central Park and looked up at the stars. I knew I would be safe forever.

_*****Last ending! Alfred ended up winning the most votes so he got the longest ending. This officially wraps up the story of Natalina. If you guys are willing to stick around, there' some explaining about why I wrote: "Tell Me This is a Dream". Thank you very much for sticking with the story and if you are a writer yourself, may the words be ever in your favor! I will post an afterthought soon that explains everything!*****_


	20. Thank You (afterthought from RGaffney)

The wild and crazy tale of Tell Me This is a Dream:

I was very close to my grandmother. She was kind and sweet and I adored her. She was the one that taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch. When my little sister was sick and I had to spend a day at my grandparents while my sister when to the doctor, my grandmother was the one who taught my how to make a honey nut cake, a recipe that I still enjoy today. She taught me Polish and told me the stories of my great-grandfather from Russia and all the tales of when she was my age. I was always over at her house and every time she was sick, I was always in the hospital visiting her. I was very lucky to be so close to her. She gave me a sense of family heritage and I always knew she loved me.

One minute, I'm standing in her kitchen with her, my grandfather and aunt talking about summer camp and just a few hours later my family gets a panicked phone call at our house from my aunt about how something was wrong with my grandma and my mother needed to be there right away. My mother and father left and my sister and I sat in the kitchen, wondering if it was another blood sugar problem and hoping that my grandma was ok. Then my father pulled up in his car 15 minutes later and tells my sister and me that Nana was gone.

I could have gone for an entire week without sleeping. I would just be up all night thinking about her and just feeling numb. I found comfort in one of the arts that was closest to my heart: writing. Through a punch-drunk, sleepless night I came up with the crazy idea of Tell Me This is a Dream and about a young woman who had it all: love, adventure and a strong heart, even if the storyline was cheesy and over-done on so many levels.

It felt really good to put my fingers to the keyboard and write a story. It gave me comfort on those sleepless nights when I would be up thinking. A lot of Natalina's grief about her mother was from my own heart when I thought about my grandma. It took a lot of courage to publish it on and I didn't really care who saw it or not. It was just a place for me to share a story and if I made only one person happy when they read it, then my work was done.

Then something shocking happened.

More than one person actually liked the story! The silly little piece of cheesy drama and romance that I wrote as midnight therapy actually made a bunch of people happy! I continued writing the story and followed up with the sequel. Every time I was sad or I couldn't sleep I would write that story. It made me extremely happy that people liked the story and I always enjoyed telling people a story as long as there was one person that would read it.

Tell Me This is a Dream is not my best story. I fully know that. I used it as a test bed to find out what people liked. I found out that they thought I was good on the drama but maybe I needed some help with character development and romance. I turned around and wrote "Belle of the Bloody Ball" with what I had learned from my other stories and I think "Belle" is my best story so far.

If I had known what I know now about writing back then, I'm sure Tell Me This is a Dream and Tell Me This is a Lie would have been a lot better; but that's all part of learning how to write. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing about that crazy story. All I can do now is look forward to future stories and hope that I can entertain someone, even if it's just one person.

Thank you. I want to thank all of you for reading my stories. It means so much to me when I make people happy and the best complement I can ever get is: "When are you going to update the story?" Everyone's words have helped me along not only with the stories that I write but also with the pain of knowing that I can never make a honey nut cake or chocolate chip cookies with my dearest Nana again. Whenever someone sent me a review or added my story to "favorites", I could feel my pain lessen. The pain is gone now except for a few heartaches over the holidays or on my Nana's birthday and I have all of you to thank for that. You all truly saved me from a sadness that I thought I would never feel. No, really, you guys _saved _me.

I look forward to entertaining you all again. I hope you find as much happiness in writing or whatever makes your heart sing and I look so forward to the day when you win a Newberry or a Nobel or a Grammy, Oscar, or any award in the arts, business or whatever field you go into or I see you on the news for something amazing that you did and I can proudly say: "I entertained that person".

Thank you.

Closing the cover on this wonderful adventure,

RGaffney

EDIT: Stupid author! I forgot to tell you guys... Watch out for my Ask RGaffney on my Dev account, HorseandWolfLover93, soon to be open! Thank you!


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